Ashley Street Center renovations

The City's acquisition of the Ashley Street Center at 1509 Ashley St. in late 2022 marks an important step towards enhancing services for our community's most vulnerable members. In line with this commitment, the City of Columbia Public Works department organized an informal open house meeting on July 25, 2023, to discuss the proposed design-build renovations for the Ashley Street Center.

The preliminary concept plan is to renovate approximately 2,500 square feet of the existing 13,700 square feet of the former VFW Post 280. The renovations also include the addition of up to six each of showers, toilets, sinks, laundry washers and dryers. Renovations also included modifications and additions to the mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems to facilitate possible future programs at the facility.

At the meeting, valuable insights were gathered regarding the proposed renovations aimed at serving individuals experiencing homelessness. These renovations are geared towards establishing a winter overnight shelter and exploring the potential for year-round shelter services. Subsequent to the meeting, the City's Purchasing division initiated solicitation RFP (Request For Proposal) 157/2023 for the design and construction of the Ashley Street Center. A pre-proposal conference tour was conducted Nov. 20, 2023, where interested offerors visited the Ashley Street Center to observe its existing conditions firsthand.

The Purchasing division issued three addendums to furnish proposers with extra materials, corrections, clarifications and supplemental details. These included additional projects appended to the RFP, such as site work essential for individual shelters, electric service provision for individual shelters (a minimum of 23 singles and 3 doubles) with prospects for future expansion, installation of security fencing around individual shelters, enhancement of the pavilion structure and associated bathrooms for year-round utilization, parking reconfiguration, and ensuring utility capacity for all proposed work. The initial segment of the RFP's qualifications-based selection process was due by January 19, 2024.

The confidential qualifications proposals that have been received are currently undergoing review by a committee, with at least two members who are licensed professional engineers. The evaluators will assess and score the proposals based on various criteria, including the offeror’s proven background and experience in the required work, the firm's reputation concerning project design and construction, firm availability, provided references, capacity to meet project deadlines, specific expertise of key personnel involved, and method of performance. Following the qualifications evaluation, the evaluators will designate finalists for a formal interview.

The finalists will present their concept/project approach to the committee for further investigation. They will also be required to provide a cost estimate. The City may award the design-build contract to the contractor offering the most compelling proposal, considering factors such as the feasibility of the proposed method of performance, pricing, the City's prior experience with the contractor, the contractor's reputation, technical proficiency and any other relevant factors.

Construction is planned to be complete by the end of 2024.