Commissioners approved a $37.8 million contract to replace the 1940s emergency operations center on Broad Street. The city pays $26.3 million of the $49.5 million total.
Durham County commissioners on Monday, Nov. 9, approved a $37.8 million construction contract for a new Emergency Operations Center on Broad Street. The building will also hold the backup 911 call center for the city and county and a backup call center for the Sheriff’s Office.
The board approved Bordeaux Construction Company’s guaranteed maximum price of $37,779,840. It also set a not-to-exceed limit of $38,913,235 for the work, including any change orders. Both figures are in the county’s agenda action form for item 26-0539.
The vote was part of the consent agenda, which passed unanimously, according to the county’s meeting highlights.
What gets built
The new center replaces a building from the 1940s. It opened in 1946 as the original Durham County Youth Home and served that purpose until 1983, the county’s form says. It has been renovated several times since to work as an emergency operations center, and county planners found it too small for current and future needs.
The county’s form and its cost-sharing sheet describe the new building:
- two stories and 42,482 square feet, on the existing 1.5-acre site at 2422 Broad St., next to the Durham County Youth Home
- an Emergency Operations Center, a Fusion Center and offices for Emergency Management
- a backup 911 call center for the City of Durham and Durham County
- a backup emergency call center for the Durham County Sheriff’s Office
- an exercise room that city staff can also use
The old building will be torn down once the new one is finished and occupied. The county is aiming for LEED Gold certification, a green building rating.
The city’s backup 911 center now sits in space leased from Duke University. That lease is due to expire in the coming years, the county’s form says. The city asked in 2021 to join the project.
Who pays
The county also cut the project’s total budget by $5,656,912, to $49,499,403. The city and county split the bill under their existing agreements on emergency management and 911, the cost-sharing sheet shows:
| Share | Amount |
|---|---|
| City of Durham | $26,284,337 |
| Durham County | $23,215,067 |
| Total project | $49,499,403 |
The two governments split costs for the emergency operations space 50-50. The city pays 79% of the backup 911 center and the county 21%. The county pays all of the Sheriff’s Office backup call center. Each share includes the 1% set aside for public art.
Bordeaux’s price came down from an earlier proposal. An August action form for the same project listed a guaranteed maximum price of $44,099,065. The new figure is about $6.3 million lower. The August form said the county’s money for the project comes from limited obligation bonds, a type of borrowing.
When it opens
Not before 2029 at the earliest. Bordeaux’s revised price proposal, dated Oct. 20, puts construction at 28 months. Final completion is planned for 850 days after the county gives the notice to proceed, and that start date has not been set.
The board also approved two related contracts the same night:
- $346,260 more for architect O’Brien Atkins Associates to oversee construction, bringing its design contract to no more than $5,322,951.50 (item 26-0561)
- up to $180,180 for Summit Design & Engineering Services to test materials and inspect the work (item 26-0573)
Also approved: a $47 million sewer pump station near RTP
On the same consent agenda, commissioners approved a $46,983,993 construction contract with Garney Companies for the Chin Page Road lift station, force main and sewer outfall (item 26-0569). That brings Garney’s contract to $48,383,993. The board added $49,245,841 to the project, for a total budget of $52,321,091, the meeting highlights said.
The county’s action form says the pump station will move 10.2 million gallons of sewage a day. It serves the Northeast Creek basin, which takes in most of Research Triangle Park. The current sewers there cannot handle the development planned under the city-county comprehensive plan, the form says.
The money comes from a $19,298,025 Clean Water State Revolving Fund loan, approved by the state Department of Environmental Quality, and a $30 million bond note.
What it means for you
- Nothing changes yet for 911 callers. The project builds the backup call centers and the emergency operations space. Construction has not started.
- Your money: the county’s share is about $23.2 million and the city’s about $26.3 million.
- Watch the meeting: the Nov. 9 session is on the county’s YouTube channel, linked from the meeting highlights. Commissioners next meet in regular session Monday, Nov. 23, at 200 E. Main St.
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