Civic Center Project

Constructed in 1969, the old San Dimas City Hall, Plummer Community Building and Plaza are in dire need of a renovation to be able to effectively serve the community and future generations. The 40-year old buildings are crowded, inefficient, do not comply with modern building codes, and are not easily accessible to the disabled. Although the basic building shells are sound, the buildings systems, such as heating, cooling and sewers, are deteriorated and in need of replacement. The Plaza is falling apart, the fountain constantly leaks, and the concrete is cracked and patched. Click HERE to view slide show of construction progress.

The principal concept of the San Dimas Civic Center was to concentrate vital public services into a single convenient location in the heart of the city and to provide a community spaces for cultural, social and recreational activities. A study was made of how to modernize and expand these spaces. The existing 20,384 square foot City Hall will be renovated and expanded by 10,931 square feet. The 3,707 square foot addition to the Plummer Community Building will add 2,100 square feet of community meeting room space and significantly increase the capacity of the main hall.

In order to minimize inconvenience to the public, the City Council has authorized temporarily relocating City Hall off-site during the 12-month construction schedule. This will allow the contractor the ability to have unrestricted access to the buildings and the plaza which saves 5 months and reduces the project budget. Major project milestones include:

Advertise, Contractor Pre-Qualifications and Public Bidding:
November 23, 2009 - January 26, 2010

Bid Opening for Prime Contractors:
January 27, 2010

Approval of Prime Contracts by City Council:
February 23, 2010

Relocation of City Hall to 186 Village Court, San Dimas:
March 8, 2010

Construction Starts:
March 22, 2010
Click HERE for slideshow of construction progress.

Construction Completion:
March 11, 2011

Grand Re-Opening:
April 4, 2011

The City Council awarded bids to 35 sub-contractors on February 23, 2010.  The bids were $1,021,752 less than estimated.

On November 10, 2009, the City Council accepted the Guaranteed Maximum Price and approved the Agreement with Griffin Structures, Inc. for program management services for construction of the project. Griffin Structures, Inc. was selected based upon their proven track record of delivering public projects under budget and on time.

The City made an important decision regarding the method by which the City Hall project is designed and constructed--the project delivery method. This decision will insure that the project is delivered in the most cost-effective manner possible, without expensive change orders. Program and Construction Manager-at-Risk (PCMR) is an integrated project delivery method that is designed to avoid the weaknesses of the traditional design-build approach. Chief among the benefits of the PCMR delivery method are the fixed price, the Guaranteed Maximum Price, and the opportunity to incorporate a contractor's perspective and input to planning and design decisions. Due to these benefits, and a proven track record of delivering projects on-time and on-budget, the Program and Construction Manager-at-Risk delivery method is now widely used by federal, state and local agencies.

Construction drawings and specifications were prepared by the architect and submitted to the City for review in July 2009.

Griffin Structures, Inc. and Swinerton joined the project team in July of 2008 to handle Program Management, and Construction Management, respectively. The advantage of involving them early on in the design process is it allowed constructability input while the design was evolving and relatively easy to change. For example, one of the early design concepts was to build an addition on the west side of City Hall which is 8 feet higher the existing parking lot. Initially, it was thought that we could take advantage of this grade difference, with a few more feet of excavation, to create an extra floor underneath the addition to accommodate community meeting rooms. After studying how to actually build this it was determined that the cost was too high due to structural elements. During discussions with City Council it was decided to pursue an addition to the front of the Plummer Community Building to create community meeting rooms.

The City issued a Request for Qualifications in October 2007 to over 60 architects. Following interviews, two firms were invited to submit proposals. Staff visited civic projects designed by both architects. The Council hired Nestor Gaffney Architects in March of 2008, who immediately began working with staff on preliminary design. This architect designed several notable similar municipal projects, including the City of Santa Ana City Hall expansion and renovation, and the Cypress Community Center expansion and renovation. As the design progressed, a series of presentations were made to the City Council to solicit their input as well. Schematic design was completed concluded with a City Council presentation on March 10, 2009.

In 2005, the Hattox Design Group was selected by the City to analyze the City Hall space needs. The existing and future needs were studied. The study found that some existing staff were working out of converted storage rooms, and lacked desk space and conference rooms. The study determined that the existing City Hall building was too small to simply be remodeled accommodate our needs. The study concluded that the building needed to be increased about 10,000 square feet.

The planned expansion of both the City Hall and Plummer Community Building will maintain their unique Prairie architectural style. This architectural style was perfected by Frank Lloyd Wright and is characterized by strong horizontal lines, dramatic roof overhang, slotted windows, brick facades, and open floor plan. Materials have been carefully selected to match existing.