Firm selected for $140M courthouse
signed Edgemoor-Star may refinance the deal.
“I’m not prepared to approve a multiyear contract that we don’t know if it’s been fully negotiated yet,” Sigaty said. “I’m a steward of the taxpayer dollar, and it’s irresponsible for me to approve a contract without having the negotiated terms in it.”
Officials from the Department of Public Works and the Office of Law are working with the council to include parameters for the charges in the contract before it’s approved, and to show what the change in capital and facilities management charges could look like if interest rates move a half or whole percent, Milton said.
Council members are expected to discuss the contract at a work session on Monday, and could vote on the agreement July 27, before the panel’s August recess.
Another council member, Democrat Jon Weinstein, said while he’s interested to learn more about the issue during next week’s council session, he doesn’t have direct concerns.
If the contract is approved by the council, Edgemoor-Star would hire 23 partners to complete the project, which is scheduled to begin in August 2019 in Columbia.
Designs from Edgemoor-Star include a 237,000-square-foot courthouse, a fourstory atrium, 691-space parking garage and support space to add a sixth judge to the courthouse’s five-person bench.
“It was clear from the outset that the county was serious [and] organized and then demonstrated that by hiring very qualified advisers to help with the procurement,” said Brian Dugan, managing director for Edgemoor-Star.
The county has the highest bond rating — AAA — from Wall Street credit agencies.
The rating allows it to issue bonds at a lower cost, sometimes saving millions over the term of a loan for major construction projects and programs.
Dugan noted that status, saying “we knew they had the credit to finance [the project].”
Replacing the county’s 175-year-old Ellicott City courthouse has been a priority for County Executive Allan Kittleman, who has been determined to secure financing for a project that’s been stagnant since the 1980s.
Due to the project’s large scale and $139 million construction price tag, the county pursued a public-private partnership that splits costs — and risks — between it and the developer.
Nine companies were interested in bidding on the project. Edgemoor was among three finalists.
Dugan said his firm has completed several similar projects, but that Howard’s is the fourth in the country of this specific nature that holds the firm to specific performance requirements during design and construction phases.
Edgemoor completed a courthouse in Long Beach, Calif., under this method and is in the midst of two other courthouses using performance-based criteria.
Under basic terms of the deal, Edgemoor will finance and manage the design, construction and maintenance of the facility for 30 years. Howard County will pay the firm $75 million when it moves into the courthouse in 2021 as well as annual payments of approximately $10 million, adjusted for inflation, for the next 30 years.
After that, Howard County will take over the building and its upkeep.
Assistant to the Director of Public Works Holger Serrano estimated the courthouse could last up to100 years. He did not have an estimate for future upkeep costs. kmagill@baltsun.com
“I’m not prepared to approve a multiyear contract that we don’t know if it’s been fully negotiated yet,” Sigaty said. “I’m a steward of the taxpayer dollar, and it’s irresponsible for me to approve a contract without having the negotiated terms in it.”
Officials from the Department of Public Works and the Office of Law are working with the council to include parameters for the charges in the contract before it’s approved, and to show what the change in capital and facilities management charges could look like if interest rates move a half or whole percent, Milton said.
Council members are expected to discuss the contract at a work session on Monday, and could vote on the agreement July 27, before the panel’s August recess.
Another council member, Democrat Jon Weinstein, said while he’s interested to learn more about the issue during next week’s council session, he doesn’t have direct concerns.
If the contract is approved by the council, Edgemoor-Star would hire 23 partners to complete the project, which is scheduled to begin in August 2019 in Columbia.
Designs from Edgemoor-Star include a 237,000-square-foot courthouse, a fourstory atrium, 691-space parking garage and support space to add a sixth judge to the courthouse’s five-person bench.
“It was clear from the outset that the county was serious [and] organized and then demonstrated that by hiring very qualified advisers to help with the procurement,” said Brian Dugan, managing director for Edgemoor-Star.
The county has the highest bond rating — AAA — from Wall Street credit agencies.
The rating allows it to issue bonds at a lower cost, sometimes saving millions over the term of a loan for major construction projects and programs.
Dugan noted that status, saying “we knew they had the credit to finance [the project].”
Replacing the county’s 175-year-old Ellicott City courthouse has been a priority for County Executive Allan Kittleman, who has been determined to secure financing for a project that’s been stagnant since the 1980s.
Due to the project’s large scale and $139 million construction price tag, the county pursued a public-private partnership that splits costs — and risks — between it and the developer.
Nine companies were interested in bidding on the project. Edgemoor was among three finalists.
Dugan said his firm has completed several similar projects, but that Howard’s is the fourth in the country of this specific nature that holds the firm to specific performance requirements during design and construction phases.
Edgemoor completed a courthouse in Long Beach, Calif., under this method and is in the midst of two other courthouses using performance-based criteria.
Under basic terms of the deal, Edgemoor will finance and manage the design, construction and maintenance of the facility for 30 years. Howard County will pay the firm $75 million when it moves into the courthouse in 2021 as well as annual payments of approximately $10 million, adjusted for inflation, for the next 30 years.
After that, Howard County will take over the building and its upkeep.
Assistant to the Director of Public Works Holger Serrano estimated the courthouse could last up to100 years. He did not have an estimate for future upkeep costs. kmagill@baltsun.com
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