By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
Sea Isle City will open construction bids next week for its proposed community recreation center – a major step that will reveal just how much it will cost to build the project.
The bidding process Dec. 21 is a critical phase as the project transitions from the planning stage to actual construction in 2024.
“We’ve had a lot of interest expressed from many contractors, so we’re hopeful to receive competitive bids,” Mayor Leonard Desiderio told City Council during a meeting Tuesday.
For the last two years, Sea Isle has estimated the cost of the community center at $20 million while the project moved through the planning and design phases.
Desiderio acknowledged the possibility that inflation may push the price tag higher, but expressed hope that competitive bidding will keep the cost around $20 million.
“I would say, let’s see the numbers. We’re definitely rooting for $20 million,” he said in an interview after the Council meeting.
Desiderio noted he is encouraged that so many local construction companies have expressed interest in the project ahead of time – a sign that bid prices could be extremely competitive and work in the city’s favor.
“It’s a major project, and they want to keep people working,” he said of the contractors.
The construction bids will also give a better indication of the timeframe for building the project. Previously, city officials had estimated that the community center would open sometime in 2025, but Desiderio indicated Tuesday that the project will likely stretch into 2026.
“It’s a two-year project. If everything goes as planned, I would say we would start in the spring (of 2024) and, I guess, go to spring of 2026,” he said in the interview.
To make room for construction of the community center, the city demolished the old Sea Isle City Public School at 4501 Park Road last spring. The community center will occupy the same footprint of the old school on the block bordered by Park Road, Central Avenue, 45th Street and 46th Street.
Architectural renderings of the community center unveiled earlier by the city show a two-story building featuring a glossy facade overlooking Central Avenue. Sea Isle officials say the building will include attractive architecture to blend in with the rest of the neighborhood.
The building’s design reflects its dual role as a community center and recreation facility. There will be a large gymnasium, indoor walkway and workout space for recreation. The building will also include space that local community groups could use for meetings, events and other activities.
As a preliminary step for construction, a massive pile of soil, also known as fill, was placed at the site in June and is undergoing a process known as “surcharging” for the next few months.
Surcharging will allow the soil to become compact enough for the community center’s foundation to be built on top of it without settling.
