The MBTA chose a construction manager for a new Quincy bus maintenance facility through a bid process it hasn’t used for more than a decade, a shift in approach taken after a failed procurement halted the project this spring.
Skanska USA Building was the top-rated company selected through Construction Manager at Risk, a procurement method that tasks contractors with delivering a project within the owner’s guaranteed maximum price.
In this instance, Skanska must ensure that the construction of a new bus maintenance facility in Quincy is designed and built in a way that does not exceed the MBTA’s $280 million budget for the project, T spokesperson Joe Pesaturo said.
The MBTA’s Capital Investment Plan lists the total authorized budget for a new Quincy bus facility at $402.1 million, but Pesaturo said the $280 million figure is for “construction only.”
“(I’m) very happy that the MBTA is using this process,” said Maureen McDonough, acting chief of capital program support. “We have not done this for over a decade.”
McDonough said the MBTA opted to use a different procurement method after a Chapter 30 low-bid process resulted in two bids that came in “well over” budget, at roughly $360 million apiece in May.
“So we canceled that procurement,” she said at Thursday’s board of directors meeting. “We made a decision to go with CM at-risk in June.”
Unlike Chapter 30, where a project is designed and put out to bid before bringing a contractor on, a construction manager is brought on soon after a designer is hired so the CM can work with the designer in a collaborative way throughout the development of the design, McDonough said.
CM at-risk also creates the potential for the owner, or the MBTA, to select a bid based on qualifications rather than low price, she said. In this instance, the CM selection was qualification-based, Pesaturo said.
“What the CM is doing is they are in the market every day getting actual day-to-day real-time pricing,” McDonough said. “So we can have a higher level of reliability on the construction cost estimates, which is really important to us.”
Seven firms responded to a request for qualifications put out for construction managers in August, a “great response” that McDonough said was shortlisted in October to three Boston companies: Skanska, Suffolk Construction and Consigli Construction.
All three companies were interviewed this month. The MBTA opted to start negotiations with Skanska, the top-rated firm, and per the at-risk process, would move on to the second- and possibly third-ranked firm if it can’t come to terms with its first pick, McDonough said.
Ken Johnson, deputy chief of project controls, said the MBTA laid out four contract approvals that will lead to a final guaranteed maximum price.
The agency plans to issue its first contract in January for pre-construction services, which will take roughly six months and consist of building evaluation and “extensive” engineering, Johnson said. In May, the MBTA plans to issue a first amendment for an interim guaranteed maximum price.
Before the building can be constructed, Johnson said critical infrastructure work must be performed to free up an impediment on the site.
“We need to get this Columbia Street extension completed, open for the public and then that will free up the encumbrance in the site making way for our ability to move forward with the building,” he said.
In July, Johnson said his team will ask the T’s board of directors to approve an interim guaranteed maximum price for an early construction package, and will be seeking approval for a final GMP for the project next November.
Construction of a new Quincy bus maintenance facility is part of the MBTA’s plans to modernize three bus facilities with the capacity to electrify 30% of its fleet, according to the T’s Capital Investment Plan.
The current one is the oldest bus facility in the MBTA system and lacks the required technology and space to support newer buses, according to the T’s website.
Betsy Taylor, who chairs the MBTA board, questioned whether existing MBTA staff had the special skill set required to carry out a CM at-risk project.
Jay Neider, chief of capital programs, said three MBTA staffers have the necessary expertise, and there are plans to bring on consultants “to bolster our capabilities and our strength in delivering this project.” The T has plans for several more CM at-risk projects, he said.
“This is an incredibly important investment for us, and incredibly important for the community,” said MassDOT Secretary and CEO Jamey Tesler. “The prior garage in Quincy, the existing one has been there 90, almost 100 years maybe.
“These facilities are incredibly important to what we do and incredibly durable, and last a really long time,” he added. “So we need to get it right and built right.”
