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Re: Saints Lowertown Ballpark

Posted: October 12th, 2012, 2:25 pm
by nordeast homer
I'm guessing not.

It seems that the city is confident that they're safe on this, but MN Management & Budget seems pretty outraged over the way things were handled.

What are the reprocussions if the city is found to have acted improperly? Does the project just go out for bid? I can't imagine this derails the project...

Re: Saints Lowertown Ballpark

Posted: October 12th, 2012, 3:20 pm
by MNdible
What are the reprocussions if the city is found to have acted improperly?
There's another overlooked loophole in the bill that sends all of the money to SW LRT in case of any improprieties.

Re: Saints Lowertown Ballpark

Posted: October 12th, 2012, 5:03 pm
by Nick
What are the reprocussions if the city is found to have acted improperly?
There's another overlooked loophole in the bill that sends all of the money to SW LRT in case of any improprieties.
Reeeeeeally?

Re: Saints Lowertown Ballpark

Posted: October 13th, 2012, 10:03 am
by MNdible
No, not really.

Re: Saints Lowertown Ballpark

Posted: October 13th, 2012, 5:09 pm
by Nick
Poop.

Re: Saints Lowertown Ballpark

Posted: October 15th, 2012, 12:53 pm
by Nick
Uhhhhh....

I guess I can't say I'm super shocked a local government did this but you'd think Ryan would be a little smarter than that? But we'll see how it works out.

Re: Saints Lowertown Ballpark

Posted: October 15th, 2012, 1:42 pm
by Le Sueur
Uhhhhh....

I guess I can't say I'm super shocked a local government did this but you'd think Ryan would be a little smarter than that? But we'll see how it works out.
Ooops.

Re: Saints Lowertown Ballpark

Posted: October 15th, 2012, 2:05 pm
by nordeast homer
Dollar signs with lots of zeros behind them have a tendancy to cloud judgement a bit. I'm sure more will come out in the law suit that might shed some more light to the situation.

Re: Saints Lowertown Ballpark

Posted: October 15th, 2012, 8:19 pm
by spectre000
Seems like this whole situation could be easily resolved by just cancelling the contract with Ryan and opening it up to bids. Hopefully the city wises up. I'd hate to see a lot of wasted time and money on a drawn out court case.

Plus given the fact that the city and Saints are $2 million short on the total funding, a lower bid could help them cover that shortfall.

Re: Saints Lowertown Ballpark

Posted: October 17th, 2012, 11:41 am
by spectre000
:D

http://www.startribune.com/local/stpaul/174588881.html

St. Paul reverses build decision, will put Lowertown ballpark out for bid
Article by: ROCHELLE OLSON , Star Tribune Updated: October 17, 2012 - 11:11 AM

"St. Paul leaders reversed themselves Wednesday by deciding to put the design-build contract for the Lowertown ballpark out to bid rather than hand the job to Ryan Companies without competition.

City leaders huddled for several hours late Tuesday and made the announcement of the change Wednesday.

In a news release, Mayor Chris Coleman said the city acted "within the full authority of the law" in giving Ryan the design-build contract. But he said that in the interest of "transparency," the contract would be reopened for competitive bids..."

Re: Saints Lowertown Ballpark

Posted: October 17th, 2012, 1:29 pm
by aguaman
Here it is straight from the source:
City of Saint Paul announces selection process for Lowertown Ballpark

SAINT PAUL, Oct. 17, 2012 — Today the City of Saint Paul announced the opening of the selection process for a design/ build manager for the Lowertown Ballpark.

“The City of Saint Paul has acted within the full authority of the law with the work to date in pursuing and building a Lowertown Ballpark,” said Mayor Chris Coleman. “In the interest of transparency, we are conducting a competitive selection process for the design / builder. Transparency in government always has been and will remain a top priority of mine and I believe this process will ensure the best outcome for the city, taxpayers and ultimately, the project.”

The Lowertown Ballpark, expected to be open in the spring of 2015, will host the Saint Paul Saints, as well as numerous amateur leagues and other sports organizations from around the state of Minnesota. The construction of the ballpark will add hundreds of jobs and is expected to have an economic impact in the millions of dollars for the Lowertown community.

“Although this selection process may cause some delays, it is my hope that this process will move smoothly and swiftly so we are able to play baseball in Lowertown on opening day in 2015,” said Saint Paul Parks and Recreation Director Mike Hahm.

The city will continue to utilize a design / build authority, authorized by the Legislature to design and build the ballpark. A design / build model ensures a seamless transition between the multiple layers of design and construction and promotes efficiencies and cost-savings by avoiding duplication of efforts. Saint Paul’s authority was based on similar legislative language used for other recent public facilities projects, including the Xcel Energy Center and Target Field.

A Request for Proposal (RFP) will be issued on Friday, November 30th. Over the next 120 days, the Department of Human Rights and Equal Economic Opportunity (HREEO) will be leading the selection process for the design / build manager. Interested parties who wish to participate may contact HREEO to register to receive the RFP by calling 651-266-8900.

For additional information, contact:
Communications Director
Joe Campbell at 651-266-8515
[email protected]

Re: Saints Lowertown Ballpark

Posted: October 17th, 2012, 1:57 pm
by nordeast homer
Sounds like a city lawyer took a look at the situation and said, "um, &#@%!!"

Glad to see they reconsidered this so fast! No sense dragging something like that out.

Re: Saints Lowertown Ballpark

Posted: January 6th, 2013, 9:57 pm
by twincitizen
Competition heats up for stadium bid: http://finance-commerce.com/2013/01/com ... -ballpark/

Re: Saints Lowertown Ballpark

Posted: January 10th, 2013, 9:41 am
by aguaman
City of Saint Paul, Parks & Recreation <[email protected]>:

For Immediate Release
Jan. 10, 2013
Contact: Brad Meyer - Saint Paul Parks and Recreation Public Service Manager
(o) 651-266-6377 (c) 651-894-3258
[email protected]

City of Saint Paul selects Ryan Companies US, Inc. as design/builder for Lowertown Ballpark project
Three firms competed as part of competitive process

SAINT PAUL – The City of Saint Paul took a major step forward today towards building a new ballpark in downtown Saint Paul, selecting Ryan Companies US, Inc. to provide design/builder services for the project. A competitive process was initiated in November and following a comprehensive review of the three successfully submitted proposals, the city will begin contract negotiations with Ryan Companies.

“We are thrilled that this part of the process is complete, and that we are able to move forward to build the ballpark with a company that we know will be responsive and responsible, has demonstrated experience, and will hit the ground running,” Mayor Chris Coleman said. “This ballpark will be an attraction for families across the region, it will add vitality to our community, it will bring 400,000 people to downtown yearly, and create hundreds of jobs. With this decision, we are one significant step closer to playing baseball in Lowertown.”

Ryan Companies US, Inc. has extensive experience designing and managing large-scale projects. Ryan originally worked with City of Saint Paul and the St. Paul Saints to produce the feasibility study during the initial state Legislative funding pursuit and has extensive background and familiarity with the Lowertown Ballpark project. Recent Minnesota projects completed by Ryan Companies include the Minnesota Department of Revenue building in Saint Paul, the Target Commons space and the MoZaic office and retail building, both in Minneapolis. Projects currently in process include a major, multi-year renovation of the Bishop Henry Whipple building at Fort Snelling and 222 Hennepin, a mixed-use project which includes luxury apartments and a Whole Foods grocery store.

The city will begin negotiations with Ryan on various proposed design and project management fees to help achieve maximum value based on the current project budget of $54 million.

“We are so thrilled to win this project and continue our longstanding partnership with the City of Saint Paul and the St. Paul Saints. Based on our extensive past experience on this project, we knew we would submit a very competitive proposal. The Ryan team has a lot of experience and we look forward to leveraging our design/build expertise on this project,” said Pat Ryan, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ryan Companies US, Inc. “We recognize how important this ballpark is not only to the residents of Saint Paul and Lowertown, but also to the entire region. We look forward to delivering a ballpark that is innovative, sustainable, and functional for many years to come.”

The next step in the process is to develop a comprehensive community engagement strategy to facilitate input and feedback as the project progresses. Following successful negotiations with Ryan Companies the project will begin with demolition of the former Diamonds Products site in the spring. Additional vendor outreach for subcontracting opportunities will be managed by Ryan to meet or exceed city and State requirements for the project.


About Ryan Companies US, Inc.
Ryan Companies US, Inc. is a 3rd generation, family-owned national developer, designer, capital investment consultant, builder and real estate manager specializing in fully integrated solutions for more than 75 years. Key market sectors include: retail, distribution, mission critical, public sector and health care; and product experience includes work on office, retail, mixed use, hospitality, multi-housing, industrial, medical office building, senior housing, distribution center, public sector, and mission critical facilities. Ryan serves customers throughout the United States with offices in the NorthCentral, Midwest, Great Lakes, SouthEast, SouthCentral and SouthWest regions. Ryan was named the 2007 National Developer of the Year by the National Association of Office and Industrial Properties (NAIOP). For more information, visit www.ryancompanies.com

About Saint Paul Parks & Recreation
Saint Paul Parks and Recreation is a nationally accredited and gold medal award-winning organization that manages more than 170 parks and open spaces, an AZA accredited Como Park Zoo and Conservatory, 25 city operated recreation centers, 4 municipal golf courses, more than 100 miles of trails, an indoor and 2 outdoor aquatic facilities, a public beach, a variety of premium sports facilities, and Great River Passage - which is the new identity for all proposed public development along Saint Paul's more than 17 miles of Mississippi riverfront. For more information, visit www.stpaul.gov/parks

Re: Saints Lowertown Ballpark

Posted: January 10th, 2013, 11:46 am
by MNdible
Thanks for playing, other bidders.

Re: Saints Lowertown Ballpark

Posted: February 15th, 2013, 11:32 am
by Viktor Vaughn
Finance and Commerce reports that the Saints ballpark contract with Ryan is behind schedule. Taxpayer's League is anxious for the final contract to see how much, if any, money was saved by competitive bidding. They don't release other bids until the Ryan contract is finalized. It's rare I'm on the same page as the Taxpayer's League and Phil Krinkie (our very own Grover Norquist), but they have a good point about competitively bidding a $54M project. Also, it was nice they showed a little consistency by opposing Zygi's extortion. Too often the anti-tax plutocrat-types turn a blind eye to corporate welfare.

Anyways, I always appreciate how Finance & Commerce includes numbers in their reporting, here's the breakdown on the funding and budget.

Besides the state bonding [$25 million], funding sources secured to date include the city of St. Paul ($17 million), the Saints ($10 million), and a $1 million cleanup grant from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.

Ballpark figures

Here’s how the $54 million project budget breaks down for the new home of the St. Paul Saints:

•$25 million for the structure and finishes
•$9 million for demolition, site work, utilities and environmental work
•$6 million for land acquisition
•$6 million for design and other soft costs
•$3 million for furniture, fixtures and equipment
•$3 million for financing
•$2 million for contingencies

Re: Saints Lowertown Ballpark

Posted: February 19th, 2013, 1:49 pm
by lordmoke
Star Tribune article with projected timeline for the project:
http://www.startribune.com/local/stpaul/191866431.html

Re: Saints Lowertown Ballpark

Posted: February 19th, 2013, 2:06 pm
by mamundsen
With the new talk about the Vikings stadium having a baseball alignment "squeezed" into it... has it ever been discussed to add a retractable roof to the Saints ballpark?

Re: Saints Lowertown Ballpark

Posted: February 19th, 2013, 2:40 pm
by mamundsen
And now I see that the renderings we've been seeing for years will be scrapped! Put a roof on it, make the Vikings pay for that cost and keep baseball out of the new Minneapolis Stadium.

http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_226 ... ap-closing

Re: Saints Lowertown Ballpark

Posted: February 20th, 2013, 12:34 pm
by go4guy
With the new talk about the Vikings stadium having a baseball alignment "squeezed" into it... has it ever been discussed to add a retractable roof to the Saints ballpark?
Not sure if you are serious are just making fun of the comments on the Strib article. But if you are serious, a roof would more than triple the cost of the stadium.