Murrieta Innovation Center Te nant
Imp
rovements General Contractor
and Construction Manager
Selection and Award a Contract
Presented by: Scott Agajanian, Director of Economic Development James Wurtz, Business Development Program Manager
Martha Samaniego, Management Analyst
2/18/2025
R e c e i v e d A f t e r A g e n d a P r i n t e d 2 / 1 8 / 2 0 2 5 - R e g u l a r M e e t i n g D I S C U S S I O N - I t e m N o . 9
P r e s e n t a t i o n
2 History
• The Murrieta Innovation Center (MIC) is a
dedicated regional innovation hub established by
the City of Murrieta in 2012 to better serve the
entrepreneurial and start up community. It is
Southwest Riverside County’s leading incubator
focused on biotech, med tech, and health tech
startups.
• The MIC is currently home to four physical life
sciences and medical technology-based startups,
and an additional 10 virtual and international
startups which utilize the Center. These businesses
are incubating at the MIC to grow out of that
space and into the business community, focusing
on the core tech area of biotechnology.
3 Grant
• In April 2022, the City of Murrieta and the Murrieta
Partnership (dba. Impact Riverside County)
received an award in the amount of $2,429,910
from the U.S. Department of Commerce
Economic Development Agency (EDA) for the
purpose of renovating the Murrieta Innovation
Center into a best-in-class life science start-up
incubator and a driver for job creation in the
Southwest Riverside County region.
• Improvements will include the renovation of
approximately 12,470 square feet of tenant
improvements, including utilities for a wet lab &
dry lab.
4 Design
• In April 2023, the City entered into an Agreement
with BAM Architecture Studios, Inc for services.
• The design phase of the project was completed
at the end of 2024.
5 6
7 Design
Finishes
8 9
10 Construction
• The construction bidding process began on
November 4, 2024.
• As part of the federal requirements through the
EDA, a public notice inviting bids was released
and closed on January 7, 2025.
• A mandatory pre-bid meeting was conducted on
November 21, 2024, with over forty (40) general
contractors in attendance.
• There were seven (7) proposals submitted, of
which six (6) qualified for review. Of the proposals
submitted, all were reviewed, and the lowest,
most responsive bidder was Optima RPM. The
table below summarizes the submitted proposals,
identifies the firms/proposers, and the bid amount.
11 12
Bid Protest
• After the bid opening, Tovey/Shultz submitted a
bid protest against the bid submitted by Optima
RPM, claiming that Optima RPM did not possess
the proper licensing to complete the Project. After
consulting with legal counsel and reviewing
documentation regarding licensing, it was
determined that Optima is properly licensed to
complete the work.
• On February 3, 2025, a response was submitted to
Tovey/Shultz denying the bid protest.
13 Construction
Management
• Independent from the construction contract bid
process, an informal Request for Proposals was
requested from all construction management
companies with active on-call agreements with
the City. The table below summarizes the firms
and the bid amounts for construction
management for the MIC tenant improvement
project. This is a key component to meeting the
labor compliance requirements of the EDA.
14 15
Fiscal Impact
• Approval of the recommended actions modifies
the existing capital improvement plan project
21029 and allocates the remaining $175,111.16
needed to complete the project and a
contingency for unanticipated expenditures of
$324,888.84, bringing the total project budget to
$4,383,203. The table below outlines the existing
budget, where the funding is appropriated from,
and the additional funding needed.
• The EDA grant is reimbursable in nature, requiring
the City to expend funds prior to requesting
reimbursement. The costs related to Construction,
Construction Management, and Labor
Compliance are eligible expenses to be funded
with the EDA Grant. Additionally, Impact
Southwest Riverside County agreed to fund fifty
percent (50%) of the grant’s required 20% match.
16 F unding Source A mount
G rant F unding from E D A 2,429,910.00$
G eneral F und G rant M atch 303,739.00
Impact R iverside C ounty Grant M atch 303,739.00
G eneral F und S upplemental F unding 845,815.00
T otal Current F unding Sources 3,883,203.00$
Proposed General F und Supplemental F unding 500,000.00$ T otal F unding Needed for Project 4,383,203.00$
Des cription A mount
C urrent B udget 3,883,203.00$
E x penditures to D ate (235,254.79)
B alance R emaining 3,647,948.21$
C onstruction C ontract 3,189,616.84$
15% C ontract C ontingency 478,442.53
C onstruction M anagement and L abor C ompliance 155,000.00 C ontingency for U nanticipated E x penditures 324,888.84 T otal Construction Costs 4,147,948.21$
T otal Construction Costs 4,147,948.21$
B alance R emaining 3,647,948.21
A dditional A ppropriation Needed 500,000.00$
Proposed T otal Project B udget 4,383,203.00$
17 Recommendation
• Approve the award of a construction contract to
Optima RPM, Inc., as the lowest, most responsive
bidder for construction of the Murrieta Innovation
Center (MIC) tenant improvements in the amount not
to exceed $3,189,616.84, plus a 15% contingency of
$478,442.53, for a grand total of $3,668,059.37;
• Approve a purchase order for $155,000 for RWBID
Construction Management, LLC, for construction
management services, including labor compliance for
the MIC tenant improvements;
• Amend the Fiscal Year 2024/25 Capital Improvement
Budget for Capital Improvement Project No. 21029 by
increasing the expenditure budget by $500,000; and
Authorize the City Manager to execute all related
contracts.
Questions?
Thank You!