THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, December 7, 1994 TAG: 9412070470
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ALEX MARSHALL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
The city's renovation of the old Rice's building on Granby Street is $1.5 million over budget, 11 months behind schedule and in violation of some of the city's own rules, the City Council learned Tuesday.
Following allegations raised by Councilman Herbert Collins, Assistant City Manager Shurl R. Montgomery told the council that the city has had myriad difficulties overhauling the 100-year-old building. The Granby Municipal Building, as it will be called, is scheduled to be finished in November.
Councilman G. Conoly Phillips was particularly angry after Montgomery revealed that the city's Codes Administration Department had violated its own rules by moving into the first floor of the building without a temporary occupancy permit. The first floor is the only one occupied.
``It seems to me we have to play by our own rules,''Phillips said. ``I tell you, this smells.''
Collins, in his report on the building last month, raised allegations that Montgomery's update largely bore out.
Collins said that as a minority council member, he wanted to be known as caring about fiscal responsibility and social issues.
``I'm being a responsible councilperson,'' Collins said.
Despite the problems, the city almost certainly will spend the extra money to complete the building. To abandon the project now would mean the loss of millions of dollars.
The four-story building has won raves from downtown admirers who love its marble facade and columns. The old facade was revealed after the city tore off the metal framework on the Rice's department store.
The cost of construction, originally estimated at $5.8 million, has risen to $7.3 million.
Montgomery proposed a plan that would allow the council to avoid spending more capital improvement funds on the building.
Under the plan, the city's Public Utilities Department would pay its ``rent'' in the building 10 years in advance. This would amount to $1.2 million.
The self-supporting department pays rent to the city, and depends not on general tax revenues but on water and sewer charges paid by businesses and homes.
The other $300,000 would come from funds already budgeted to improve the building's facade.
The council did not approve the new funding plan. Collins suggested the council create an oversight committee before voting on it..
The city's Department of General Services has overseen construction. This is the first time the city has been in charge of renovating and remodeling an old office building, Montgomery said.
It also may be the last. Montgomery agreed with council members who said the cost overruns and delays prove that the city should have hired private contractors.
``We have never done something like this before and we probably shouldn't again,'' Mayor Paul Fraim said.
The city is in the position of someone who plans to renovate an old house but finds problems and costs far greater than anticipated.
The cost overruns, Montgomery said, resulted from problems that arose during the renovation and from changes of plans:
The city opted to tear off the old metal facade after the city's Design Review Board suggested it. Doing so did not cost much, Montgomery said, but $300,000 will be required to restore the old marble facade.
Asbestos was discovered in parts of the building.
Part way through the project, the city opted for a more expensive raised-floor system in which phone, computer and other cables run under the floor for easy access.
The building needed a new roof.
Eventually, several city departments and agencies will be housed in the building. They include Codes Administration, Public Utilities, Information Systems and Human Services.
Renovating the building is economical, Norfolk staff members have said, because the city can reduce the rent it is now paying to house some municipal offices in private buildings. by CNB