By Megan V. Williams
Wilmington, NC – Wilmington may soon have a company to build its convention center, one that already has a history in the region.
J.M. Thompson Company of Raleigh came in with the low bid for the project's construction contract, saying it can build both the center and its parking deck for $28.4 million, three million dollars less than city's own estimate and $525,600 below the next closest bid.
J.M. Thompson also built New Hanover County's jail, a project that ended up in mediation after coming in two years late and nearly four million dollars over-budget.
The city is retaining a separate company, McDonough Bolyard Peck Inc., to oversee the convention center's construction process. Any builder faces a deadline in early 2010 to cut the ribbon on the center, with construction expected to start later this year.
Foundation pilings are already starting to go in at the convention center site, a specialized task that city spokesperson Malissa Talbert says needed an expertise separate from the building of the center itself.
Wilmington's City Council will vote on whether to accept the bid next week.
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View a summary of convention center construction bids here.
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