Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Henderson to get new $2.6 million library on Water Street

Down economy means bid came in lower than the expected $4.4 million and project can advance, director says

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A much lower than expected bid has permitted the Henderson Libraries to move forward with plans for a new building for the James I. Gibson Branch in the Water Street District.

The district’s Board of Directors unanimously approved a $2.6 million contract with R&O Construction this morning for a 19,000-square foot building to be built in the new Lake Mead Crossing at Lake Mead Parkway and Water Street. Construction is expected to begin in mid-August and completed by April.

Henderson Libraries Executive Director Thomas Fay said the library district had pushed off plans for the new building because of its initial estimated cost, which was almost $4.4 million. But as the declining economy pushed construction costs down, the board decided to test the water by issuing the bid.

“I thought $3.6 million would be the lowest it would go,” Fay said. “Then when I sat here reading those bids, I was just floored when it went below $3 million.”

Fay said the district received 22 bids for the project, and the top five were all within $150,000 of one another. He said R&O Construction won out by negotiating lower rates with its subcontractors and purchasing all the raw construction materials itself in order to avoid paying subcontractor markups.

“On every question we asked them, they had an answer that was reasonable and what we would expect,” Fay said.

R&O is a 29-year-old construction firm based in Ogden, Utah, but has operated a regional office in Las Vegas for 13 years. Locally, the company’s projects include the Centennial Gateway Retail Center at U.S. 95 and Ann Road, a recreation center at Sun City Anthem, a Hampton Inn and Suites at McCarran Airport and the Element Hotel in Summerlin.

Elsewhere, R&O has built police stations, fire department stations, and projects on Air Force bases in North Carolina and Utah, said Chet Opheikens, business development manager for R&O.

“We’re very excited to be here, to be working with the local community and with the library district,” Opheikens said. “It’s a great opportunity to partner with the library district and create a unique building.”

When built, the new Gibson Branch will be about 5,000 square feet larger than the current facility, which is located about one mile south on Water Street, adjacent to Henderson City Hall. In addition to the added space for materials and a 25-station computer lab, the new site will also alleviate parking issues the branch faces in its current location, Fay said.

At this morning’s meeting, Fay announced that the Henderson Libraries are also pursuing a $1 million grant available through the federal stimulus package that would allow the district to add an additional 4,500-square foot expansion to the new Gibson Branch that would house an expanded computer lab.

The City of Henderson, which leased the land where the Gibson Branch is presently located to the district, has agreed to purchase the existing building for $4.1 million. The city hasn’t determined what it will do with the building.

Henderson Libraries paid $2 million for the land and site preparation for the new building. With the proceeds of the sale and other money the district had set aside, it will only be taking on about $300,000 in debt for the new building, Fay said. The district issued a $2 million, 10-year bond in March to help pay for the new branch as well as renovation of the Green Valley Branch, which the Henderson Libraries took over from the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District in January.

The new bond will replace a bond that the district is retiring at the end of the year, Fay said, and will increase the district’s overall annual debt obligation from about $375,000 to $415,000.

“We don’t take out bonds lightheartedly,” Fay said. “We only borrow what we know we can manage to pay back.”

The lower-than-anticipated bid will also allow the district to free up some money it had set aside for the project and put it back into its capital and general funds. Fay said he is bracing for another lean fiscal year ahead, as the property tax revenues that support the library district are expected to continue to decline, and the money that was freed up will help offset the district’s revenue shortfalls.

In a way, he said, the low bid shows that the dismal economy can, in some cases, be a two-edged sword. Had the bid come in anywhere near the $4.4 million the district originally anticipated, the project would not be happening, he said.

“I’m excited to get it going,” Fay said. “I’m excited we can do it. In this case, obviously, the economy helped us out in a weird, sick, twisted way.”

CORRECTION: This story was updated to reflect that the new library will be at Lake Mead Crossing, not Water Street Commons. The Sun regrets the error. | (July 24, 2009)

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