OZARKS | What’s New In Public Construction

House Bill 2376 which passed late 2016 is in full effect for all Public entities in Missouri. So what does this mean for Missouri? As a school District, municipality, county, or state agency you now have four delivery options for the design and construction of your projects. Traditionally Missouri has only allowed two options; Design Bid Build (the traditional method also known as hard GC Bid), and Construction Management by Agency. Now with House Bill 2376 being passed there is the option of Construction Management at Risk and DesignBuild. Our team of Owners, Builders, Architects and Association experts would like to share the advantages and disadvantages of each of these four delivery procurement methods and how they are going to provide flexibility to you as an Owner, contractor, architect, engineer – anyone involved on a construction project whether horizontal or vertical.

A quick definition of the two new delivery methods as outlined by the HB. “Construction Manager at Risk, a sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, or other legal entity that assumes the risk for construction, rehabilitation, alteration or repair of a project at the contracted price as a general contractor and provides consultation to the political subdivision regarding construction during and after the design of the project.” This method is similar to CMa, except the risk is passed to the Contractor and that entity holds all the traded Contractors contracts. These “projects” have to be in excess of $3.5 million dollars to enter into this form of a contract.

“Design Build, a project delivery method subject to a three-stage qualifications-based selection for which the design and construction services are furnished under one contract. Design-Build Contract, a contract which is subject to a three-stage qualifications-based process between a political subdivision and a Design-Builder to furnish the architectural, engineering, and related design services and the labor, materials, supplies, equipment, and other construction services required for a design-build project. These “projects have to be in excess of $7.0 million dollars to enter into this form of contract.

This is an exciting time for those needing to stretch their dollars to cover much needed construction and that would like to consider alternative delivery methods for the completion of their projects. We are excited to be able to provide you an informative look at these new opportunities.