Site work, paving and new construction of a mixed-use development in Walhalla, South Carolina. Working plans call for the construction of a clubhouse / community center; conference / convention center; fitness / recreation center; office development; and for paving for a sidewalk / parking lot.

https://upstatetoday.com/news/walhalla-finalizes-its-community-center-design-build-team/article_4565e2e0-bdd3-11ef-a2d2-8fd2765fb46c.html WALHALLA — The city of Walhalla has confirmed its design and build team for the highly anticipated $5 million community center. Walhalla City Council’s Parks, Recreation and Tourism Committee met about a week ago to discuss two options selected out of the original seven bids for the design-build team and voted to have staff offer their final recommendation. Staff narrowed it down to one — contracting with Hogan Construction Group, LLC with design partners GMC Architects, Studio Main and Kimley-Horn. “I just want to say that the quality that we got was outstanding,” city administrator Celia Myers told council at its Tuesday meeting. “It was a really tough decision on a lot of these, but ultimately, with the timeline projected, the design builder fee that was presented and the workload capacity that they had, how many other projects they’re working on where they could spend extra time with hours, we are asking that you consider the Hogan team, which also includes GMC Architects, Studio Main and Kimley-Horn. “We’ve worked with many of them in the past, and they were very successful relationships with them,” Myers said. “Same with the other (bid).” Mayor Tim Hall echoed Myers, saying staff had some “quality organizations” competing to design and build the future community center, which will be located just off Blue Ridge Boulevard behind Subway and Dogwood State Bank (formerly Community First Bank). “That speaks well for your ability to get the word out, and it speaks well with the attractiveness of Walhalla and doing business in Walhalla,” Hall said to Myers. City council was unanimous in approving the endorsement and will enter into a contract for the community center, which is expected to have a budget range between $4.25 million to $4.75 million. Those funds will come from a $5 million appropriation the S.C. General Assembly set aside for Walhalla last year in its 2024 state budget along with other funding to local communities. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- https://upstatetoday.com/news/walhalla-chooses-design-build-team-for-future-community-center/article_fa6cfb28-bd07-11ef-898d-c3be11f12e05.html Walhalla chooses design-build team for future community center WALHALLA — Walhalla City Council has chosen its design and build team for the city’s anticipated $5 million community center. Council’s Parks, Recreation and Tourism Committee met last week to discuss two options selected out of the original seven bids for the design-build team and voted to have staff offer their final recommendation. Staff narrowed it down to one for council to accept at its Tuesday meeting. “Based on the strength of the team, positive interactions with firms on previous projects, capacity to manage the project, timeline, etc., staff recommends the City contract with Hogan Construction Group, LLC with design partners, GMC Architects, Studio Main and Kimley-Horn,” according to staff. City council was unanimous in approving the endorsement and will enter into a contract for the community center, which is reportedly expected to have a budget range between $4.25 million to $4.75 million. Center’s background The S.C. General Assembly set aside a $5 million appropriation last year for Walhalla to construct a community center, which was put in the 2024 state budget along with other grants to local communities. State Sen. President Thomas Alexander and State Rep. Bill Whitmire, both of Walhalla, worked to create support for the funding in Columbia after talking with city officials about the need. The grant was part of about $25 million in state funding awarded in June 2023 for projects in Oconee County. Walhalla officials have said the center is needed to increase space for recreation sports and community meetings for a city that operates many of its recreation programs in a gym built in 1916 with limited space and parking. Walhalla finalized buying land for the center during the summer and had previously signed an agreement for purchasing the land in January. According to Oconee County property records, the 9.83-acre tract is valued at $64,290. Thousands of Pictures were taken. We only had room for two. See (and buy!) all the great shots that didn't make it into The Journal. Visit our online gallery now! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- https://upstatetoday.com/news/walhalla-administrator-gives-update-on-5m-community-center/article_d9959666-a7cd-11ef-8441-b74816855393.html Walhalla administrator gives update on $5M community center WALHALLA — An update on Walhalla’s anticipated $5 million community center was given to the city’s elected officials during a meeting Tuesday night. City administrator Celia Myers informed Walhalla City Council that the city had received seven requests for qualifications (RFQ) for the community center’s design build. “Our internal staff will be vetting those, and then we will have those recommendations for (council’s Parks, Recreation and Tourism) PRT committee. I can’t promise by the next committee meeting (on Dec. 3), but we will get through that because some of these have some depth in them, so we want to make sure we do our due diligence on that and present that to you,” she said. Mayor Tim Hall asked Myers if she could dive deeper into what the next steps look like for getting the new community center project off the ground and completed. “Staff’s next steps is to research the seven design build RFQs that we received last Friday. We have an internal team that has a grading evaluation sheet and we’re going to look at each one,” Myers shared. “Once we come up with the top, I’m going to say (top) three, whether we decide that we need to bring them in for interviews or whether we feel like we have enough information based on their proposals, we’ll come to that determination. And then we will submit those recommendations to the PRT committee, so that there can be some input from them as well. Then once that is done, they will recommend to full council whoever it is that we will award this project to, and then we will start on the design phase.” Anticipated timeline Hall also asked Myers if the city could expect the new community center to be completed in the summer of 2026. Myers responded she thinks that assumption “would be fair.” “Most of them (RFQs) have given an indication of give or take around 18 months (for project completion),” she said. “There is some variation, but a lot of it is going to depend on how quick we award the contract. So, the more time we spend in trying to determine how this is, the longer it’s going to take to build obviously, and then how long it takes us to come up with a design because we want to make sure that we include community input, staff input, council’s input, etc.” Hall replied, “Gives us something to look forward to.” Community center background The S.C. General Assembly set aside a $5 million appropriation last year for Walhalla to construct the community center, which was put in the 2024 state budget along with other grants to local communities. State Sen. President Thomas Alexander and State Rep. Bill Whitmire — both of Walhalla — worked to generate support for the funding in Columbia after talking with city officials about the need. Walhalla officially purchased nearly 10 acres of land for the future community center on July 31. The property is situated between Blue Ridge Boulevard and Earle Street, behind Subway and the former Community First Bank, now Dogwood State Bank. The city first signed an agreement in January for purchasing the 9.83-acre tract that is valued at $64,290 from Flatrock Holding Company LLC, according to Oconee County property records. Myers previously said the center is needed to increase space for recreation sports and community meetings for a city that operates many of its recreation programs in a gym built in 1916 with limited space and parking. Officials originally talked about using property at city hall for the community center, but later decided the space would not be a good fit. Some ideas that have been batted around — but not solidified yet — for the community center’s uses include space for volleyball and basketball, rec department offices, storage, community space for meetings or events, an indoor walking track, a gym such as a weight room and multipurpose fields for football, soccer and extra parking. ----------------------- The City seeks qualified Design/Build Firms for the design & construction of a Community Center, located on Blue Ridge Blvd. The Center is envisioned to consist of 2 full court basketball/volleyball courts with bleachers, offices, restrooms, multi-purpose rooms, walking track, concession/kitchen and storage facilities. Project will include site work, parking, landscaping, FFE and optional multi-purpose field *The value for this project is based on a financial range. The value is listed as the highest possible cost from the range provided by a stakeholder or official project document. Question deadline: 10/01/2024