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CITY OF GLENDALE, CALIFORNIA
REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
AGENDA ITEM
Report: Construction Bids for the for the Glendale Arts and Entertainment District Improvements on Artsakh Avenue Project
1) Resolution adopting the revised Specification, rejecting all bids, dispensing with competitive bidding, and authorizing the Director of Public Works or his designee to directly negotiate with the qualified bidders, for the Glendale Arts and Entertainment District Improvements on Artsakh Avenue Project, Specification No. 3893R.
COUNCIL ACTION
Item Type: Action Item
Approved for May 6, 2025 calendar
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
On August 31, 2023, the Project was advertised, but no bids were received before the deadline. Following an investigation into the underlying reasons, the Project was re- advertised on October 23, 2024, with adjustments to the specification. On January 15, 2025, three bids were received for the Project. After a thorough review, staff found that the lowest bid was non-responsive because it did not meet the mandatory minimum qualifications for contractor’s references, and the remaining two bids were significantly higher than the Engineer’s Estimate.
Therefore, to keep the Project on schedule and reduce administrative costs, staff recommends rejecting all bids and negotiate with the qualified bidders instead of rebidding the Project. Upon a successful negotiation, staff will return to City Council to seek approval for awarding a construction contract.
RECOMMENDATION
Approve the resolution adopting the revised Specification, rejecting all bids, dispensing with competitive bidding, and authorizing the Director of Public Works or his designee to directly negotiate with the qualified bidders.
ANALYSIS
In 2018, the Community Development Department (CDD) issued an RFP seeking services from urban design and/or landscape architectural firms to provide placemaking {{section.number}}22
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and innovative streetscape design services with expertise in providing the vision and technical documentation needed to transform two blocks of Artsakh Avenue into an exciting new destination and pedestrian-friendly Arts and Entertainment District within Downtown Glendale.
On August 28, 2018, the City Council awarded a contract to Studio One Eleven (S111) for multiple phases of the project development, including conceptual design, design development, and the preparation of construction documents, permitting, bidding, and construction administration.
On June 4, 2019, during the conceptual design phase, City Council directed staff to study two separate design schemes, and on August 27, 2019, selected the one-way street design and directed staff to finalize the design, and proceed to construction documents.
In March of 2021, the construction documents, permitting, bidding, and construction administration phase of the Project was transferred to the Public Works Department (PWD) from CDD. As part of the city’s ongoing efforts to improve Artsakh Avenue, PWD has overseen the preparation of plans, specification, and estimates for the Project.
The Project is located on Artsakh Avenue between Wilson Avenue and Harvard Street and the scope of work includes the following:
•Realignment of the roadway to create a subtle weaving pattern for traffic calming and to convert the roadway to a one-way street, with travel direction from north to south;
•Replacement of one traffic lane with extended sidewalk and pedestrian areas for a pedestrian-oriented environment while maintaining access to the garages and tenant servicing;
•Programming and integrating the public areas of Artsakh Avenue between Wilson Avenue and Harvard Street including the alley between Brand Boulevard and Artsakh Avenue for passive public activities and to support special events such as concerts, festivals, and plays;
•Extension of sidewalks on both sides of Artsakh Avenue to create pedestrian safety measures that establish and delineate areas for pedestrians and vehicles; •Installation of landscaping, street trees, and active/passive pedestrian facilities and street furnishings;
•Incorporating public art features to identify the Arts and Entertainment; •Creation of a small plaza and extension of sidewalk dining areas to activate storefront sections, specifically, sidewalk extensions on the north block to align with the western side of the street, to provide spaces that are better connected to the pedestrian passageways and the public alley;
•Raise a portion of the street to create a seamless, programmable space for occasional larger events;
•Selective removal, repair, and reconstruction of damaged curbs, gutters, sidewalks, driveways, cross gutters, and alley aprons;
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•Selective removal, repair, and reconstruction of damaged asphalt and Portland cement concrete pavements;
•Installation of new ADA compliant curb ramps;
•Modification of existing traffic signals; and
•Installation of new signing and striping, including new high visibility crosswalks.
On June 13, 2023, the City Council adopted the Project plans and specification and authorized the city clerk to advertise the Project for bids. The Project was advertised in the Glendale Independent, the city’s website, as well as various online platforms.
August 31, 2023 was the bid deadline for the Project, but no bids were received.
Following an investigation into the underlying reasons, as well as conducting several constructability reviews and strategies to garner competitive bids, the Project was re- advertised on October 23, 2024, with adjustments to Specification No. 3893. On January 15, 2025, the city received three bids as follows:
1. JT Construction $6,965,554.65
2. Dorado Design & Construction $10,880,715.00
3. Environmental Construction $16,748,136.00
Upon review of the bid documents and after consultation with the City Attorney’s office, Staff found the lowest bid to be non-responsive in accordance with the bidding requirements as follows:
a. Mandatory Qualifications for Bidder and Designated Subcontractors – Bidder did not show they satisfactorily completed as a prime contractor or subcontractor at least (4) prevailing wage public contracts in California; each comparable in scope and scale to this Project, within (5) years prior to the Bid Deadline and with a dollar value in excess of the Bid submitted for this Project.
The State of California Contractor’s State License Board website confirms that the licenses of Dorado Design & Construction and Environmental Construction are current, active, and in good standing. Additionally, staff contacted the references provided by both contractors and found they had satisfactorily completed their projects. Also, Dorado Design & Construction has previously completed construction of the city’s Beeline Maintenance Facility Project and the Glendale Police Museum Project in a satisfactory manner, and is currently working on the Fremont Park Project, while Environmental Construction has previously completed the Scholl Canyon Landfill Stormwater Management Project overseen by the County of Los Angeles Department of Sanitation.
Subsequently, since the remaining two bids were significantly higher than the Engineer’s Estimate of $8,000,000, staff recommends rejecting all bids and negotiating the contract amount to keep the Project on schedule and reduce administrative and implementation costs instead of rebidding the Project. In determining that it is in the best interest of the city to do so, staff recommends rejecting all bids received for {{section.number}}24
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Specification No. 3893R. Article IV, Section 9 of the City Charter authorizes the City Council, after rejecting bids, to have the contract negotiated without further bidding.
The construction of this Project is anticipated to begin in January 2026 and is scheduled for completion by March 2027.
Addition of Public Artwork: "Tatik and Papik"
Two public artworks “Bountiful” by Matthew Mazzotta Studio and “Tamit Gohar” by Forma Studio were approved by the City Council for the Project on March 1, 2022, and May 10, 2022, respectively.
In response to City Council direction provided at the April 15, 2025 meeting, regarding the inclusion of a "Tatik and Papik" public artwork installation within the Project, staff recommend integrating this additional artwork through direct negotiation without initiating a new competitive bidding process. Given that the current project delivery strategy allows for negotiations with qualified bidders, staff proposes that the negotiations include the additional scope of work with the selected contractor to incorporate necessary site preparation, infrastructure (e.g., foundations, lighting, landscaping adjustments) as a fixed bid allowance, and coordination for the future installation of the "Tatik and Papik" artwork.
PWD will engage S111, and utilize savings from construction management support as part of the original contract with S111 to revisit the design plans and incorporate an area for the “Tatik and Papik” artwork without having to amend their current contract amount.
Once the determination for the location is made, Library, Arts & Culture Department (LAC) will take a report to the Arts & Culture Commission for approval of moving forward with an RFP for the artwork. If approved by the Commission, LAC will issue a separate RFP solely for the selection and commissioning of the artwork itself, in collaboration with PWD, and will present the selected art to the Library and Arts Commission and to the City Council to award the artwork design contract separately.
Once the design is completed, PWD will then finalize the details with the contractor for the construction of the artwork. If the design details exceed the bid allowance negotiated by PWD, a contract change order will be processed to complete the work.
This approach will maintain project momentum and avoid cost escalation associated with redesigning and rebidding, and meet the Council’s goal of enhancing the Arts and Entertainment District with iconic public art.
Upon successful negotiation, staff will return to City Council with a recommendation to amend the construction contract and appropriate any additional required funds.
STAKEHOLDERS/OUTREACH
The Project benefits to the community will include the following:
•Improved safety for all users;
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•Improved accessibility and walkability throughout the Project and downtown Glendale corridor;
•Maintained access to parking lots, businesses, and travel throughout Artsakh Avenue;
•Improved support for retail and restaurants;
•Improved access for first responders; and
•Advancing the city’s mission of making Glendale an arts and culture destination.
City Council study sessions, Arts and Culture Commission presentations, stakeholder meetings with individual businesses and property owners along the corridor, outdoor community workshops, as well as preview meetings with various city departments have been ongoing since March 2019. Strong community support for the Arts and Entertainment District, consensus on adult and artist focused character for the district, the preference for a pedestrianized street, and support for a one-way street design were the key takeaways of all the outreach conducted and further confirm the designed improvements and goals of this Project.
Project update notifications were sent to property owners and occupants along the Project limits and corridor vicinity notifying them of the Project and encouraging their feedback. An on-site display at 125 N. Artsakh Avenue was also setup by PWD and CDD introducing proposed Project renderings and an upcoming project schedule, as well as providing physical project flyers for the public to view and take. On October 5, 2022, staff also presented the upcoming project to the Downtown Glendale Association.
Finally, outreach on this Project continues to occur through door-to-door canvassing, construction notifications, door hangers, dedicated website for the Project hosted by PWD through the City website. The website introduces the public to the Project and to the project team, explains the scope of work, design, project locations, project phases, shares details of the existing outreach efforts, and provides the public with staff contact information for questions, discussion and/or input.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact for this report. Existing funding in the amount of $8,773,367 is available as part of the FY2024-25 approved budget. If staff is able to successfully negotiate a construction amount, we will then return with a request for appropriation for additional funds for construction, ccontingency, construction management, engineering support, and quality assurance/quality control costs when we seek the City Council’s approval to award a construction contract.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW (CEQA/NEPA)
The Project is categorically exempt from environmental review of CEQA guidelines §§ 15301.
CAMPAIGN DISCLOSURE
The names and business addresses of the members of the board of directors, the {{section.number}}26
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chairperson, CEO, COO, CFO, Subcontractors and any person or entity with more than 10 percent interest in the company submitted their proposals, recommended for contract, or negotiation as part of this Agenda Item Report are attached in Exhibit 2, in accordance with the City Campaign Finance Ordinance No. 5744.
ALTERNATIVES TO STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Alternative 1: Do not approve the resolution adopting the revised Specification, rejecting all bids, dispensing with competitive bidding, and negotiation of the construction contract. Doing so, however, will not improve Artsakh Avenue between Wilson Avenue and Harvard Street with the improvements proposed in this report.
Alternative 2: The City Council may consider any other alternative not proposed by staff.
ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION
Submitted by:
Daniel Hernandez, Director of Public Works
Bradley Calvert, Director of Community Development
Prepared by:
Sarkis Oganesyan, P.E., Deputy Director of Public Works/ City Engineer Armen Avazian, P.E., Principal Civil Engineer
Viktoriya Pakhanyan, P.E., Senior Civil Engineer
Huang Zheng, P.E., Civil Engineer II
Approved by:
Roubik R. Golanian, P.E., City Manager
EXHIBITS/ATTACHMENTS
Exhibit 1: Project Location Map
Exhibit 2: Campaign Disclosure Forms