INTRODUCTION

Thank you for your consideration of our proposal and for allowing us to participate in this part of your selection process. You’ll find our answers to your questions below. Some of the answers include short videos recorded by members of our team, working from home. Just click on the videos to launch them. Of course, we’d all prefer to meet in person, but that’s not prudent right now. We know this crisis is adding extraordinary pressure to our Tarrant County public servants and your families. Here’s hoping you’re staying safe, productive and healthy.

project team

Project Contact: GSBS Architects / 817-589-1722 / Samuel Jones / sjones@gsbsarchitects.com

Responsiveness to RFTQ

1. What is your design philosophy?

Our design philosophy is "it's all about you." How we put that into practice is… we listen. We don’t pretend to listen and then try to sell you on our preconceived ideas. We don’t pretend to be concerned about your budget or schedule and then design something that blows them to smithereens. We don’t assume that Tarrant County operates like anyone except Tarrant County.   

We bring our own expertise, experience, and depth, but then we apply them all through the lens of your needs, your goals, and your vision.  We have a deep portfolio of work with Tarrant County, and a deeper portfolio of civic work with various other government agencies. We’ll listen to your needs and goals and then, together with you, decide how best to meet and achieve them.

2. What kind of quality control will you be providing during the design phase?

Communication is critical. Typically, we would tell you about the face-to-face meetings we will have with you the client and with our consultants throughout the design phase. While that can’t happen right now, we still feel strongly that communication is key. We are already using some great virtual meeting tools and project management tools that allow us to accurately, and quickly communicate project information. We can be virtually “face-to-face” using GoTo Meeting and Zoom; and BIM and Newforma ensure we are all working on, talking about, and tracking the most current drawings.

Our normal QA procedures will of course be in full effect: routine site visits, aggressive review and management of shop-drawing submittals and RFIs, and in-house, peer-review of project documents. GSBS stresses a proactive approach to quality control at each phase from every member of the design team. Our priority is to ensure that the project is implemented the way it was designed and that Tarrant County gets the final product you envision.

3. How will you approach this project?

Every project is unique. We will not try to force-fit a predesigned “solution” onto 350 W Belknap. But  we do bring experience in the design and analysis of hundreds of other local government facilities, many for Tarrant County. Our job is to look with fresh eyes, ask the right questions, and then provide professional opinion based on the similar issues we‘ve confronted on other projects, and the creative ways we worked with our clients to implement successful solutions. Our approach to the renovation of 350 West Belknap involves identifying these three basic components:

Part 1: WHAT YOU HAVE

Part 1 includes a review and analysis of both your physical facilities and the operational demands of providing County services. We will collaborate with County staff and designated officials to determine your current and desired level of service and projected growth for the future. With the detailed information we gather we can begin to refine the relationships and efficiency of the required workspaces. We listen, we document the needs, we enhance the functional spaces to bring you the best solution. 

Part 2: WHAT YOU NEED

Programming is our way to listen and clearly understand your needs for this facility in order to develop a specialized design to meet them. The best way to understand your facility and the way it operates is through direct dialog with user groups, department staff, and maintenance personnel. Together we’ll determine the size, shape, and location of the specific spaces that need to be included in 350 West Belknap while keeping efficiency and life safety in mind.

Part 3:  HOW YOU GET THERE

Part 3 is where the bulk of the work happens. This is where we figure out, collaboratively with you and our engineering consultants, how to make 350 W Belknap an efficient, economical, sustainable and beautiful solution for Tarrant County. The project vision and goals that are established here become the plum line that keeps this project on track and on budget.

4. What do you see as the important issues or considerations on this project?

There are many important things to consider when renovating a building, especially one of this size and age. We know there will be obvious issues to pay attention to, but also some we won’t discover until we get in there. The good news is, we’ve done this before. GSBS Architects has extensive experience in facility renovation. We know what to look for, what to watch for, and what to anticipate. We’ll be especially mindful of potential pitfalls that could have a devastating impact on the budget and schedule.

Architect Steve Gill, and Interior Designer Abigail Degenhardt had an opportunity to look around 350 West Belknap to get a better feel for the scope of this project and its potential challenges.  Following are their observations, and some areas that may need special attention:

Staffing Plan

1. How busy are you?

Our current workload is busy but manageable. Presently our Texas office staff are supporting around 20 projects of varying sizes and completeness. The two largest projects being managed by Steve Gill are just coming out of the most intensive stages so the timing of this 350 W Belknap project is good for us.

2. What is your current staffing?

GSBS has a total staff of 90. This includes 28 Architects, 12 Interior Designers, 7 Landscape Architects and the technicians, administrators and other personnel that support them.

Included in the numbers above is our staff in the Texas office which totals 12 – 3 Architects, 2 Landscape Architects, 2 interior Designers, 4 Architectural Technicians and 1 Administrator.

3. How will you ensure that other priorities within your organization do not hinder progress on this project?

Our management team meet continually to ensure we are allocating staff resources in an efficient and effective manner. Project Managers communicate with support staff, consultants and each other to manage both resources and the design process to keep all critical path decisions moving forward. Project Manager Steve Gill will remain with the project to the end. His focus throughout will be making sure project goals are achieved and deadlines are met. GSBS has a proven track record of providing on time deliveries to our clients. We are committed to a successful renovation of 350 West Belknap.

4. How would you plan on making this project a priority for your organization considering your other projects currently being worked?

GSBS has worked with Tarrant County on numerous and varied projects over the years and have developed a relationship of trust and commitment. This is a significant project to Tarrant County and it is to GSBS as well. This project is a priority for us, because Tarrant County is a priority for us. The timing is actually perfect, as Steve Gill the Project Manager for the 350 W. Belknap renovation, is just winding up design on two big projects. This frees him up to focus additional time, energy and creativity on this one.

5. What criteria will be used to establish priorities and make design decisions?

Function is our foremost priority with this facility. But function has to incorporate security and work environment in order to be…well…functional. Durable materials, natural light, secure entry points—these are some of the environmental and security concerns we will deal with during design. We will design always with these goals, but within the parameters of your budget and schedule. Design decisions will be constantly and consistently measured against the project vision established during our pre-design meetings with you. You are an integral part of the project team and together we discuss and establish the project priorities that drive design.

Track Record of Projects

AZLE Municipal Complex

1. Describe a recent project. What was the actual construction cost versus the budgeted cost for the project?

The Azle Municipal Complex consists of two buildings adjacent to each other on Main Street. The 15,600 sf City Hall, toward the front of the site features a plaza used for city events. The 14,900 sf Police facility includes a jail with sallyport.

Size:  30,500 sf City Hall and Police Facility with Jail
Budget:  $12.8M
Final Construction Cost:  $12.3M

2. If the project went over budget, what was the cause of cost overruns, who was responsible, how was it handled?

Initial estimates by the Construction Manager consistently came in $2M to $2.5M over budget. Site costs were already high because of the steeply sloped site. We went back to the drawing board and came up with an alternate one-building, two-story design estimated at a lower cost by the CM, but the Client didn’t like as well as the original design. After many discussions with the City of Azle, we decided to stick with the original design of two separate buildings on the site. We made some adjustments to the design and offered the Client some value-engineered alternatives. The CM reevaluated the costs and still came up with an estimated price that was over the $12.8M budgeted by the City. Convinced that the CM was overestimating costs, we, with the City’s approval, went ahead with two-building design.  GMP was set at $12.6. Construction on this project completed in 2019 and came in $300,000 under GMP and $500,000 under the City’s initial budget.

Kaufman Joint Municipal Facility

1. Describe a recent project. What was the actual construction cost versus the budgeted cost for the project?

New municipal building with City Hall and Police Department sharing public spaces. A rich brick exterior and classical window detailing allow this new facility to blend in with historic downtown Kaufman.

Size:  17,333 sf City Hall and Police Department
Budget:  $6,630,425.00
Final Construction Cost:  $6,016,360.28

2. If the project went over budget, what was the cause of cost overruns, who was responsible, how was it handled?

The City of Kaufman elected to fund their project through the USDA loan program which required greater scrutiny on both design and cost controls. Through the CMAR process and several pricing review sets, we were able to analyze where the costs and priorities were with the project and how best to advise our owner on how to spend their money. Because Kaufman is a small town with a limited tax base we needed to carefully examine how best to meet their needs for both City Administration and Police Department spaces. Consistent checks with a Construction Manager throughout the early design process allowed us to present the most economically viable option–a multifunction, joint building with shared spaces. Kaufman was able to select features for their building in real time to better suit their needs and budget. When the project was bid, the GMP landed within our budget and allowed for a 2% owner contingency. The USDA loan is a use-it-or-lose-it program, which meant that the design team, owner, and contractor had to carefully manage the budget throughout the project to properly use the available funds. This careful budget management allowed the City to select upgrades during construction which included upgrades to their IT and security systems and a more durable terrazzo floor for the joint lobby space. Final construction cost left less than $50,000 of the contingency that was returned to the client at the end of the project.

Project Contact: GSBS Architects / 817-589-1722 / Samuel Jones / sjones@gsbsarchitects.com