The Portland City Council on Wednesday accepted an amendment to the construction contract for the renovation of the Portland Building. The amendment sets a maximum price of $147.35 million for Howard S. Wright Construction Co.‘s portion of work on the project. The council approved the amendment with a 4-0 vote.

“Now we have a (price) that can’t be exceeded, which guarantees the city risks on the hard construction costs,” Portland Chief Administrative Officer Tom Rinehart said. “We are also on track for LEED gold certification.”

The amendment means Howard S. Wright will be responsible for any cost overruns beyond $147.35 million. The total price tag for the project was set by the City Council in 2015.

“The project is on budget with the total holding at $195 million,” said Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said.

The $47.65 million not devoted to construction is being set aside to cover items such as project management, specialty consultants, telecommunications leases and utilities and owner-controlled contingencies for unforeseen conditions.

With the amendment signed, Howard S. Wright can tackle the major construction phase.

“Basically they own the building now,” said Jen Clodius, senior management analyst and public affairs officer for the Office of Management and Finance. “We are running ahead of schedule.”

Project completion is scheduled by the end of 2020.

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The Portland Office of Management and Finance (OMF) wants the City Council to start looking at in the future in light of expectations that staff levels keep pace with the growing population.

One option that OMF has provided to commissioners involves using modern design techniques and interactive office furniture in reconstruction of the Portland Building, where a majority of city employees are housed.

In addition to the Portland Building, the city leases space at three other downtown locations – the Commonwealth Building on Southwest Sixth Avenue, Columbia Square on Southwest Columbia Street and the Congress Center on Southwest Fifth Avenue.

As the $195 million rehabilitation and seismic upgrade of the 35-year-old Portland Building moves forward, the city hasn’t yet determined how it will relocate staff – and how much that will cost. The possibility of the relocation cost causing the total project cost to exceed the required budget was discussed during a Jan. 30 work session with City Council members.

Other options include leasing additional private space in downtown, building new space in downtown and using Portland Building space more efficiently. Surveys show that employees would prefer to remain downtown, according to Tom Rinehart, chief administrative officer.

OMF has told the City Council that maximizing use of space in the Portland Building could save the city up to $30 million.

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