The Virginian-Pilot
                            THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT  
              Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Thursday, December 1, 1994             TAG: 9412010417
SECTION: LOCAL                    PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: MANTEO                             LENGTH: Short :   31 lines

DARE SEEKS ARCHITECTS' BIDS FOR COUNTY OFFICE COMPLEX

Dare County has asked 48 architectural firms to submit proposals for a multi-use county office complex.

Proposals will be opened on Dec. 16 at 2 p.m. A committee of representatives from Dare County and the town of Manteo will narrow the field to three, with interviews set for Jan. 27.

The county's capital improvements committee and Manteo officials have agreed on two possible sites for the facility.

A slight tax increase will be needed to fund the facility, said Charles Hartig, Dare County's public information officer, Wednesday. He had said that no tax increase would be needed. ``I made a mistake,'' he said Wednesday.

The size of the increase won't be known until bids are submitted for the project, Hartig said.

Dare County now pays almost $330,000 annually to rent office space. The new facility will save the county about $1.8 million over the next 15 years, officials project. Again, exact figures will not be known until an architectural firm is selected in late February.

Construction is expected to begin in the summer. by CNB