DATE: March 19, 2024
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Director of Public Works
SUBJECT: La Vista Park Project: Review and Discuss Project Revised Scope, Estimate and Budget
RECOMMENDATION
That the Council reviews and provides feedback on the revised scope and cost estimate of the La Vista Park Project.
SUMMARY
Since 2017, the City and the Hayward Area Recreation and Parks District (HARD) have worked towards a shared vision of constructing and operating La Vista Park, a new destination park in South Hayward, east of the intersection of Mission Boulevard and Tennyson Road. The addition of a destination park will create a much-needed amenity and attraction for South Hayward, the City, and the entire region.
The La Vista Park Project was envisioned to construct a regional facility that will include a number of park and recreational facilities, including a sport field/amphitheater, basketball courts, a yoga lawn, a dog park, hiking trails, a bike terrain park, and other amenities.
On February 28, 2023, Council approved the plans and specifications and call for bids for the La Vista Park Project. The adopted FY23 CIP budget includes a total project budget appropriation of $23.27M (Fund 405) for the design and construction of the La Vista Park Project.
On June 6, 2023, three (3) construction bids were received for the project ranging from $41,927,606 to $47,323,996. DeSilva Gates Construction LLC submitted the low bid in the amount of $41,927,606, which was 64.8% above the engineer's estimate of $25,438,301. Due to this significant budget shortfall, on June 27, 2023, Council adopted a resolution to reject all bids and directed staff to reevaluate the scope of the La Vista Park Project for future bidding possibilities.
Staff is requesting that Council receive and comment on a presentation detailing several options for a revised park scope and cost estimate for the project.
BACKGROUND
In 2005, the La Vista residential development that included 179 new single-family homes to be built at the South Hayward site east of (and up the hill from) the terminus of Tennyson Road and Mission Boulevard was approved. The original project included construction of a new approximately thirty-acre public park. The original thirty-acre park site on land donated from the developer was expanded to almost fifty acres in size by the addition of twenty acres of the former Caltrans Route 238 property right-of-way acquired by the City.
The adopted FY23 CIP budget includes a total project budget appropriation of $23.27M (Fund 405) for the design and construction of the La Vista Park Project. At the time of bidding, the engineer’s estimated cost for construction of the La Vista Park without contingency was $25M. With construction contingency, project design, administration, inspection and testing, the total estimated project cost was over $35M, which was greater than the appropriated budget. To work around this and be able to proceed, staff prepared alternate bids with the bid package that would have allowed the project to be phased into multiple phases depending on how the bids were received. It was intended that at least the first phase would be awarded in 2023 to construct a majority of the park features and the subsequent phases would be constructed in the future when additional funding is obtained.
However, as detailed above, the construction bids received in June 2023 far exceeded the available budget making the project fiscally infeasible. As a result, Council directed staff to reevaluate and revise the scope of the project to allow a project with a reduced scope to proceed.
DISCUSSION
At Council’s direction to reevaluate the scope of La Vista Park Project to reduce both the scope and the cost, staff worked with the project designer and now recommends the following menu of revisions to reduce construction cost and project duration:
Reduce the overall work area by 18% from approximately 47.3 acres to approximately 38.9 acres by avoiding encroachment into the mapped landslide and wetland areas; Shorten the lower keyway by approximately 50% and eliminate the upper keyway entirely due to the reduction of work area and avoidance of the landside and wetland areas mentioned above. The estimated cost savings will be approximately $4M; Eliminate lower neighborhood park that contained a basketball court and picnic area; Eliminate the switchback road;
Redesign significant grading changes to balance the cut and fill on site with no soil off haul expected; Reduce decorative boulder quantity by 75%;
Change all pathways and roadways to conventional asphalt instead of integral colored asphalt; Eliminate the lower parking lot, reducing parking count from 316 spaces to 126 spaces while still meeting requirements in the approved CEQA documents; and Replace specialty Park-Tread paving with conventional asphalt paving, decomposed granite paving, and playground mulch With the reduction of the project scope detailed above, staff anticipates defining the following items as the scope of the first phase of the project using the currently available budget of $23.27M:
Site grading and construction of the lower keyway
Installation of on-site utilities including water lines, sewer lines, and storm water lines Installation of new electrical service and infrastructure only with no fixtures Installation of irrigation system, trees, and hydroseeding of the entire project site Installation of dog park
Installation of basic non-automated restroom
Installation of offsite asphalt and concrete sidewalk on Tennyson Road Installation of Foothill trail and bike terrain park with supplemental funding contribution from HARD Should additional funding be obtained, the following could be accomplished with approximately $5.2M in a subsequent phase (Phase 2):
Install on site asphalt, decomposed granite, and gravel paving Install additional quantities of decorative boulders
Install park signage, vehicular swing gates, and bollards Install picnic tables, BBQs, benches, and Big Belly trash and recycle receptacles Install bike racks and drinking fountains
Install turf sod at the soccer field and amphitheater
Install concrete slide structures, exercise equipment, play equipment, and zipline Install fencing and shade trellises
Install pedestrian lights
Install automated restrooms and maintenance shed
If the additional funding mentioned above can be increased to approximately $10M, the list above, plus the following can expect to be accomplished:
Construct a Science Garden
Install additional concrete slide structures
Install additional tables and benches
Install perennial planting and associated irrigation
Install specialty Park-Tread paving and integral colored asphalt In order to construct La Vista Park as originally envisioned, the estimated cost will be approximately $38M, which essentially is the low bid received in June 2023, less the cost of the upper keyway construction along with the reduction of the lower keyway. However, it is worth noting that the construction costs have continued to increase since the previous bids were received. The City needs to go through another bidding process to determine what the project’s budget needs will be.
HARD has previously committed to approximately $20M in Park-in-Lieu fees and Measure F Bond fund allocations toward construction of La Vista Park. In recent discussions with HARD, they are still committed to their original contribution. Staff recommends that the Council consider dedicating an additional $5-6 million in funds from Measure C to complete the elements of the park construction outlined as a possible Phase 2 above. If these funds are committed, staff would recommend bidding the project with both Phases 1 and 2 included.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
The addition of a destination park to the South Hayward community will create a much- needed amenity and attraction for this part of the City. This will likely result in increased visitors to the area as well as more dollars spent at local businesses. In addition, there have been numerous studies that indicate that the addition of open space or parkland has a positive impact on home values in the surrounding areas.
FISCAL IMPACT
The estimate project costs are:
Construction of Reduced Scope Park $21,559,350
Construction Contingency $2,155,935
Construction Subtotal $23,715,285
Design and Administration $2,371,529
Testing and Inspection $2,371,529
Total Project Cost (Phase 1) $28,458,343
STRATEGIC ROADMAP
This agenda item supports the Strategic Roadmap to Invest in Infrastructure. Specifically, this item relates to the implementation of the following project:
Project N14, Part N14b: Construct La Vista Park
SUSTAINABILITY FEATURES
La Vista Park has been designed to be the most environmentally sustainable park within the City. As part of the design, park areas will require less irrigation with native grasses and plants being used throughout the park. Park structures will be constructed from natural materials versus traditional fabricated structures. Bio-retention filtration areas will collect and retain stormwater runoff prior to exiting the park into the storm drainage system.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Staff has also been in continuous communication with property owners adjacent to the park site and has successfully negotiated right-of-way easement access to the park site. Following this work session, City staff will present at a work session for the HARD Board of Directors on April 1 to review the revised scope of the project and any feedback received from City Council at this meeting.
NEXT STEPS
The following is the tentative schedule for this project pending Council’s direction:
Finish Plans Specifications, and Estimates Spring 2024 Advertise and Award Project Summer 2024
Start Construction Late Summer 2024
Finish Construction Winter 2025
Prepared by: Sammy Lo, Senior Civil Engineer
Kathy Garcia, Deputy Director of Public Works
Recommended by: Alex Ameri, Director of Public Works
Approved by:
___________________________________________
Kelly McAdoo, City Manager
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