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Austin City Council to vote on new Central Library cost jump

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Heidi Tse, left, and John Gillum, both with Austin Public Library Facilities Services, tour the new Central Library construction site earlier this month.

Keep the ticker running on the price tag for Austin’s nearly-complete new Central Library.

The library is set to have $5.5 million added to its budget, if City Council members approve a staff request Thursday. That will bring the total project tab to $126.6 million. It was originally estimated to be $120 million.

The library is winding down on its four years of construction and is set to open in May.

The extra $5.5 million is expected to pay for complications arising from a solar panel system on the roof, safety code requirements and minor changes in electrical connectivity, according to meeting backup documents.

The backup materials do not include the full contract changes, nor the breakdown of the additional costs. John Gillum, facilities process manager for Austin libraries, didn’t immediately have those Tuesday afternoon.

In general, the increased costs have to do with unforeseen complications of adding the solar system, Gillum said, adding that “Austin Energy is picky to the point of paranoia with anything messing with the downtown grid.” Others have to do with safety provisions in an architecturally complex building, he said.

Thursday’s deal would alter the library’s construction manager-at-risk contract. Such deals are typically structured so that there is a maximum price and the contractor is responsible for any cost overruns, but Gillum said the changes made to the library are more complicated than that.

“I thought when I was younger that’s what construction manager-at-risk meant too,” he said. “I have to say that design errors and lack of coordination between the different engineering firms on the job have made that more complex.”


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