Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center Expansion

The Town of Old Saybrook, Connecticut is soliciting qualifications and cost proposals for Construction Management at Risk services on the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center Expansion, with vendor questions due November 10, 2026 and proposals due November 16, 2026 at 3:00 p.m. Proposals are submitted by email to Carl Fortuna and Brett Elliott.

The scope is a two-story, 7,290 SF addition to the north of the National Register-listed facility, containing offices, classrooms, restrooms, a two-stop freight elevator, a new Green Room, and a new public entry, plus 1,396 SF of first-floor interior renovation for an open office, expanded coffee station, and expanded museum. The facility hosts hundreds of events annually and must remain fully operational through an anticipated twelve-month construction duration, with staff and patron safety as the highest priority. Pre-construction services are limited to procurement, scheduling, logistics, and value analysis, because Centerbrook Architects and Planners has completed construction documents ready for trade contractor bidding.

Bidders must submit project scheduling confirmation, detailed staffing with resumes and time commitments, up to five representative projects of similar characteristics, and documented experience with historic structures and occupied facilities. Required submissions also include an operational continuity plan, a written safety program with OSHA records, a quality control plan, surety bonding confirmation, and three years of audited or reviewed financial statements. Bidders must disclose litigation, claims, or debarment from the past five years and confirm key personnel availability, with substitutions requiring prior written owner approval.

Selection is quality-based with price as a factor, and the Owner reserves the right to request formal presentations from some or all bidders. Pricing follows Exhibit E and the Cost Allocation Matrix (Exhibit F), with hourly rates and pricing held without adjustment or escalation for the full project duration. Proposals remain open for 90 days after submission. The selected firm executes a contract based on modified AIA Document A133-2019 terms without alterations or exceptions.

The Exhibit B schedule sets long-lead material releases beginning November 27, 2026, structural steel erection from March 26 through June 3, 2027, and building envelope work from June 4 through August 5, 2027. The temporary certificate of occupancy process runs November 22–24, 2027, and overall completion is targeted for mid-December 2027.