The Oak Ridge City Council is pictured above in December 2016. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)
The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday will consider design contracts for the new Oak Ridge Preschool at Scarboro Park and the new Oak Ridge Senior Center at the Civic Center.
The two contracts could total about $771,000. They would be awarded to Studio Four Design Inc. of Knoxville, which has been working on the projects. They would include architectural, interior design, and consulting engineering services.
The contracts could use $1 million in bond funding being considered by the Oak Ridge City Council for the design services and other initial project costs.
Council had earlier authorized a professional services agreement to Studio Four Design to provide architectural services for various projects, including the Preschool and the Senior Center, Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson said in an October 2 memo to City Council.
In the past year, the Council has committed to proceed with the process of developing a new preschool building to replace the current 75-year-old building on New York Avenue, which has reached its maximum life span, Watson said.
Five public meetings were held with the Scarboro community as conceptual plans were developed for the new preschool, and input has been received from neighborhood residents and Oak Ridge Schools users, Watson said.
“Details for the preschool are finalized for conceptual design and approximate budgets,” he said. “Approval of the agreement will allow our architect, Studio Four Design, to being construction plans while continuing to evaluate ways to contain costs and achieve best value.”
The second agreement would be to design construction plans for the new Senior Center, Watson said.
Working with the Oak Ridge Senior Advisory Board, a site and conceptual plans have been selected for a location at Alvin K. Bissell Park just west of the Oak Ridge Civic Center, Watson said.
“This separate facility will provide meeting space, recreational space, and outdoor access to adjacent green space in the park,” Watson said.
The Senior Center has been discussed by the City Council as long ago as 2009, Watson said, although all the members have changed since then.
In 2016, the Senior Center was temporarily relocated to the Civic Center from a county-owned building on Emory Valley Road. Various studies were conducted while the seniors were located in the county-owned building, Watson said, but that building will now be the home of Anderson County General Sessions Court, Division II.
Approval of this second agreement with Studio Four will allow the start of construction designs for the Senior Center, moving the seniors closer to a new facility, Watson said.
The design contract agreement with Studio Four Design for the new Preschool could be worth an estimated $574,000, and the agreement for the new Senior Center could be worth an estimated $196,000.
The City Council meeting starts at 7 p.m. Monday in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom at 200 South Tulane Avenue. See the agenda here.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
Do you appreciate this story or our work in general? If so, please consider a monthly subscription to Oak Ridge Today. See our Subscribe page here. Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today.
Copyright 2017 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Leave a Reply