Brothers Construction Inc. of Stuart won a $2 million contract to construct a new segment of the Port St. Lucie Riverwalk Boardwalk near the Botanical Gardens.
Brothers Construction’s bid was $191,088 cheaper than the second lowest bidder, Ferreira Construction of Stuart, city records show. A total of eight bids were submitted.
The City Council voted unanimously Monday night to award Brothers Construction the contract to build the boardwalk from the banyan tree in the park under construction on Westmoreland Boulevard to the Port St. Lucie Boulevard Bridge.
The project will involve marine construction over the river and through environmentally sensitive wetlands, city records show. The boardwalk will lead to Bridge Plaza and its restaurants and shops.
Construction is expected to start in August or September and take 310 days to complete, said City Manager Russ Blackburn.
Brothers Construction has also constructed the Causeway Cove Marina, Melody Lane Fishing Pier and Veteran’s Memorial Park projects in Fort Pierce.
However, the construction of the section of the Riverwalk Boardwalk beneath the Port St. Lucie Boulevard Bridge could be delayed until 2023 because Florida Department of Transportation pushed back a bulkhead repair project on the bridge, Blackburn told the council.
FDOT had initially planned to do the bulkhead work next year so the city could construct the missing link of the Riverwalk Boardwalk in 2021.
City officials are going to push FDOT to complete the bulkhead project as quickly as possible, Blackburn said.
In a related decision, the council picked three architectural firms as finalists for negotiations to design a river-themed playground in the 10-acre park under construction at 2454 S.E. Westmoreland Blvd.
The top ranked firm is Landscape DE LLC of Miami, second ranked is Gentile, Glas, Holloway, O’Mahoney & Associates of Jupiter, and third ranked is Cardo Inc., of Vero Beach.
If city officials are unable to negotiate a contract with Landscape DE, it will move onto negotiations with Gentile, Glas, city records show.
The council wants the architect to design “a world-class playground with a ‘wow’ factor” in the park.
