INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — The Board of County Commissioners today authorized county staff to enter contract negotiations with Borrelli & Partners, Inc., the architectural firm chosen by staff as most qualified to design the South County Intergenerational Recreational Center.
Located within South County Regional Park at the intersection of Oslo Rd and 20th Ave., the $5.5-million project includes a 40,000-square-foot building, four multipurpose athletic fields for youth football, soccer and lacrosse, a parking lot, entry drive and other features.
The Commission gave staff the go-ahead to develop design parameters and advertise for project bids in November. According to Public Works Director Chris Mora, 12 qualified firms responded.
A selection committee consisting of Mora and four other county employees ranked the companies based on seven criteria: professional qualifications, relevant experience, approach to the project, capacity to accomplish the work within a timeframe, present workload, demonstration of cost control ability, and ability to utilize past design documents and standard details to reduce cost to the county.
On the basis of those rankings, staff picked the top three proposals and then interviewed those candidates.
“We chose Borrelli & Partners as most qualified,” Mora told the Board. “They have extensive experience in projects of this type.”
According to Mora, the company has designed similar recreation complexes for counties and universities.
Mora said he hoped to conclude contract negotiations and present a proposed contract and price for design and engineering work within two weeks.
Jorge Borrelli, ASLA, principle at the architectural firm, said if his company is hired it will take approximately a year to complete the design process.
“There will be at least one public event to look at the design,” he said.
The company will have to do an ecological assessment of the site, including a survey of scrub jays, an endangered species known to have been present in the area in the past.
“That is required,” he said of the survey.
Money for the recreational complex will come from Indian River County’s Optional Sales Tax Fund ($3,343,545.00) and a Recreational Impact Fee Fund ($2,156,455.00).
