River Heritage project work ready to begin

FLORENCE -- The city's River Heritage park should begin to take shape in the next six months even though the price tag for the project has increased.

Planners of the Florence River Heritage project expected the bids to come in above budget, but they didn't expect the budget overrun to be near $1 million.

The project adjacent to the Marriott Shoals Hotel and Spa and the adjoining conference center includes an interactive fountain, pavilion, playground and bike and pedestrian paths.

Melissa Bailey, the city's planning director, said the project has been discussed for a decade, which partially explains why costs are higher than originally expected.

The contract with the city's architects required them to design a project for which the total cost came in at or below budget. The budget for the project -- $6.2 million -- was established four years ago.

The project now will cost about $7.1 million.

"Following (Hurricane) Katrina, we've seen gas prices rise and construction prices go up," Bailey said. "It's not fair to say this project was designed to come in $1 million over budget."

Phil Stevenson, director of the city's purchasing department, said prices also are increasing on metals. Stevenson attributes that increase to China's increasing demand.

The low bid for the construction phase of the project came in at $6.1 million.

While that is under the $6.2 million projected budget, architect fees and other associated costs sent the project over budget by $938,000.

City council members have committed to covering the cost to keep from taking any other elements out of the project.

Some minor elements of the plan were taken out earlier, which included walkways from the center of the project to the canal.

Bailey said those items likely would be included in a future phase.

An amphitheater was also included in early designs but was eliminated early in the process, and there are no plans to bring that element back.

An agreement with the Retirement Systems of Alabama, which has been involved in a tourism project in the Shoals, requires the city to complete the River Heritage park.

Cost for the project includes landscaping and dirt moving for the 60-70 acres of project property.

Bailey said the project should take 12-18 months to complete when work begins. She anticipates work starting in September.

Todd Twilley can be reached at 740-5728 or todd.twilley@timesdaily.com.