ST. CROIX — The territorial hospital board approved a contract extension until December 17 and a $481,634.95 cost increase during a virtual meeting Wednesday for Flad Architects to monitor the construction of a parking lot, storage facilities, and an administration building on a 5-acre lot north of the Governor Juan F. Luis Hospital and Medical Center modular hospital, known as JFL North.
Flad Architects, a national, integrated planning and design firm with offices in 10 cities, is working with the Virgin Islands Government Hospitals and Health Facilities Corporation, known as the territorial hospital board, and the Territorial Hospital Redevelopment Team on architectural and engineering projects to transform the empty lot and replace the hurricane-damaged hospital.
Daryl Smalls, THRT territorial executive director, said the parking lot will have just over 200 parking spaces, while the administrative building will be 10,000 square feet. He said the storage facilities will support JFL North while the demolition of the hospital building commences.
“As it is contracted right now, we’re looking at wrapping up this project by the end of this calendar year,” he said.
Smalls said the extension of the architectural and engineering services contract through December 17 with Flad Architects was necessary because a contractor to complete the work was not identified until the project was advertised a third time.
“We have since, in the last board meeting, approved a vendor to commence with that construction,” he said.
Smalls explained the importance of having Flad Architects monitor the work of the construction contractor while discussing the need to extend the firm’s contract after initially designing the project.
“As the architect of record, it is critical that they are on board from the inception of the project to the completion of the project, especially from the standpoint on this project,” he said.
Smalls said the project is being built on virgin land. He said once the excavation and foundations are created, unforeseen circumstances could arise, so an immediate response to the contractor would be required to make the necessary adjustments.
“Their input is critical and vitally important not only from a design standpoint, but for a construction administration standpoint to make sure that they’re there from the beginning of the project to the end,” he said.
Discussing the cost increase of the initial contract of $1,945,767.29, Smalls noted a 25-week increase for the procurement processes adds $233,982.75, seven more weeks of construction administration adds $113,102.20, and a new not-to-exceed price for reimbursable costs of $134,550 created a total contract price of not-to-exceed $2,427,402.24.
Additionally, the board approved for the JFL Biomedical Department to enter into a two-year professional services contract agreement with Philips Medical Systems Puerto Rico Inc. for preventive maintenance services covering hospital equipment for an amount of $17,342.19 per month.
Furthermore, the board approved the alignment of the territorial hospital procurement policy with that of the central government by requiring one quotation for acquisitions valued up to $10,000, three quotations for acquisitions valued between $10,000.01 and $150,000, and formal solicitation for acquisitions valued over $150,000.01.
