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Hernando Today

Bids Are In For Judicial Center

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By KYLE MARTIN

Hernando Today

Published: February 6, 2009

BROOKSVILLE - Building a courthouse means big dollars.

And there are 11 companies that want the job of constructing the new judicial center, from mega-corporations with international ties to local outfits with familiar names.

Their qualifications and intentions are spelled out in the bids county commissioners requested last November. The bids range in length from hundreds of glossy pages to just under 20 pages tucked into a folder.

The details vary. Some are heavy on the design aspect, others on qualifications. Only a few list a ballpark figure as to what it will cost the county.

Three weeks ago, a committee sat down to decide how to grade these bids. For instance, they decided quality and financing should receive 30 points apiece, while design characteristics receive 20 points.

Today another committee meeting is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the downtown government center to compare notes on the grades they assigned each bid. Here's who they will be looking at:
Ryan Companies
This Tampa company is offering to build a $70 million building on its own dime, then leasing it back to the county over 30 years. It's suggesting a 125,000-square-foot building with a parking garage.

Jim Loncarski

Loncarski owns a resort on Treasure Island and he's offering to build on the "Hope Hill" site in Brooksville. The 37 acres are bounded by Main Street, Hale Street and Cortez Boulevard and backs up to Mitchell Heights.

His offer is short on specifics and banks more on the hotels and restaurants that the judicial center will supposedly bring to Brooksville.

Inland Public Properties Development Inc.

An Austin, Texas-based company, the corporation also offers to put up its own financing and leasing the facility back to the county. Like most of the bids, the company has its own contracted engineering, architectural and financing firms it plans to use if selected.

OHL S.A.

With partners in Latin America and Europe, this is one of the biggest companies to put in a bid. The Davie, Fla., company has worked on projects nationwide, as well as Chile, Mexico and Spain. But they're no strangers to Brooksville, either.

Subsidiaries performed some consulting work for construction of the new Brooksville Regional Hospital and a local branch of Capitol City Bank. It proposes to build a courthouse that will serve the community for 50 years.

Turner Construction Co.

A company with branches nationwide, it's proposing 100-percent tax-exempt debt financing.

Opus Group

This company is proposing a three- to four-story office building with an adjacent multilevel pre-cast concrete parking garage. Its plans call for a 125,000-square-foot judicial space. Its estimate: $40 million.

Burnhardt Group

One of the most colorful and detailed bids, this Brooksville-based company is owned by Paul Douglas. It presents three separate options and proposes a lease agreement for financing.

Civil Commercial Real Estate

This company is partnering with Brooksville's Civil Tech Engineering as part of its proposal for an $81.7 million building. The four-story structure would provide 125,000 square feet of space and an adjacent two- to three-story parking garage.

Municipal Capital Markets Group Inc.

This company lists the most possible sites to build on, including vacant properties north and south of Broad Street, near E. Fort Dade Avenue and Mondon Hill Road.

KUD International LLC

This group proposes building or renovating on the site of the SunTrust Bank building across the street from the courthouse.

Metro Bay Development

This not a construction bid, but a renovation proposal from the same group that refurbished the former Brooksville Regional Hospital. Its proposal is to enclose the courthouse atrium and build on the steep steps that lead up to the government center's south entrance.

Reporter Kyle Martin can be reached at 352-544-5271 or kmartin@hernandotoday.com.

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