City awards parking garage contract

A city panel of experts heard final presentations Tuesday from six construction companies vying for the contract to build the Palm Avenue parking garage.

Preliminary scoring had Suffolk Construction Co. as the winning bidder.

Glenn Marzluf, an operations and engineering general manager for the city, said Suffolk, a Lakewood Ranch company, seemed to have the most local presence with most of its subcontractors also local companies.

The city’s purchasing department will double-check the scores Wednesday and open sealed envelopes, which contain each company’s monetary bid.

The winning bidder will be confirmed after that.

That company is then recommended to the Community Redevelopment Agency Advisory Board Dec. 17, and board members will vote on their choice of contractor.

The CRAAB’s recommendation will then go to the City Commission in January for a final decision.

The city hopes to be able to open the parking garage Dec. 1, 2010.

Contact Robin Roy at [email protected].