Title
Heartwood August Update (B)
Explanation
The Heartwood Neighborhood has really taken shape as site construction reached final completion on July 19, 2019. A total of 99 trees and over 500 ground-cover plants were installed and lining the streets, sidewalks, and nature trail are Oaks, Bald Cypress, and Red Maples. The neighborhood’s retention pond treats the neighborhood’s stormwater runoff before entering the adjacent wetlands mitigation area. Over 4,500 linear feet of street curb were laid and tied into new and upgraded sewer infrastructure. At night, 49 LED decorative and smart-city compatible lights illuminate the streets and sidewalks. GRUCOM’s Gator Net 5 Gigabit internet conduit infrastructure is in the ground as well as AT&T’s infrastructure.
While getting the site completed and building pads ready, Staff has been advancing Heartwood’s multiple moving parts towards home construction. As previously presented, Staff requested a proposal from a Continuing Services Construction Manager At-Risk (CM) and has since received a proposal from Scherer Construction of Gainesville, Florida. These services will include managing the revision/drafting of interior/exterior bid specifications, quality assurance across contractor bidding and management of the bid process for home builders prequalified through Housing and Community Development. Also included is the cost to manage and build a mid-range model home to set the tone and momentum for the project.
Staff held a meeting on June 26, 2019 with the home builders to discuss the project and to gauge interest and feasibility. Five home builders attended the meeting and expressed their intent to participate in the bidding process. Suggestions were made by the home builders that would assist CRA in providing a more cost effective product to build. As part of their CM Services, Scherer Construction will assist CRA with “value engineering” efforts to create a competitive product to build.
In today’s meetings, Staff w...
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