Demolition Preparations Underway for Convention Hall

CAPE MAY – Construction fencing is being installed in preparation for the demolition of Convention Hall and the Solarium and the drilling of a geothermal test well began Thur. Nov. 11.
City Manager Bruce MacLeod updated members of the Convention Hall Project Team at a Wed., Nov 10 meeting. The removal of the old facility and Solarium, driving of piles for the new Convention Hall and actual construction of the new building are separated into three components with bidding handled individually for each phase, he said.
The current proposed construction schedule has demolition beginning before the end of the month and finishing before December 31. The design, development, and construction documents from the architects and engineers are being prepared with a due date of January 15, 2011.
Bid preparation will be completed and available to potential bidders by February 1, 2011.
The proposed schedule has bids received by the city by March 1 with a construction bid awarded on April 1, 2011.
Construction is projected to start May 1, 2011 and finish May 1, 2012 with the building opening on May 28, 2012.
Construction Manager Steve Markley, of Hunter Roberts, said there were a dozen issues “to be worked through.” He said piles should be driven before a geothermal heating and cooling system is installed.
Markley said the geothermal system involved installing 100,000 linear feet of 1 inch plastic pipe. He said piles should be installed before the geothermal tubes because if the geothermal system was installed first and the pile driving broke a geothermal tube, it would be impossible to find the leak.
Architect Martin Kimmel said there were two options “still on the table,” whether to heat and cool the entire building with geothermal or use a hybrid system with a conventional system for the auditorium portion of the new Convention Hall. A test well boring for geothermal was scheduled to begin Thur. Nov 11 in the street in front on Convention Hall.
MacLeod said the boring would be a four day procedure with two days of letting the well “cool off” following the drilling. A two day test for temperature conductivity would be undertaken to see how effective the site is for geothermal use.
Kimmel described the stage area of the new facility “as not a full black box theater type approach.”
He said a fly space above the stage is being included in the design to accommodate lights for performances.
Deputy Mayor Jack Wichterman asked if it was possible the new facility would be completed early, perhaps as soon as March 2012. Markley said it was possible but the completion date is Memorial Day Weekend 2012.
Architect Jon Trump confirmed the hall will seat 970 persons for performances.
Markley said the site fence contract was awarded to A & R Fencing. He said he wanted to get everyone acclimated to the site perimeter before demolition starts.
Pilings from the old Convention Hall will remain in the ground following demolition. The contractor chosen to install new pilings will first remove the old pilings through a water jet process, said Markley.
He said pile driving should take place in March and April 2011.
MacLeod said the city received a CAFRA permit from the state Department of Environmental Protection for the larger, original design of Convention Hall this past January. He said the city will make application for a minor modification for the new design which has a smaller footprint.
The city will need documentation of the new design after the architects and engineers sign off and seal some of the documents to submit along with the CAFRA application, said MacLeod. He said Fralinger Engineers was collecting the documents which include site plans and elevations.
MacLeod said he expected the application package to be sent to DEP for the minor modification of the CAFRA permit by Nov. 15 which would take 30 to 60 days for the state to review.
MacLeod said the city submitted its original application to the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) last January for the larger design. He said the SHPO determined the current Convention Hall was not a contributing resource to the city’s historic designation. In addition, the SHPO, in conjunction with the National Park Service and Office of the Secretary of the Interior, determined the neighboring Solarium was not an historic resource which allows the city to move forward with demolition, he said.
MacLeod set he met with a representative of the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) on October 26. He said CRDA was still committed to the original outlay which was for a facility costing up to $21 million with CRDA providing a grant of $3 million.
He said that represented CRDA providing one dollar for every seven dollars spent by Cape May. MacLeod said the one in seven dollar commitment remains from CRDA.
CRDA is waiting for the city to put together a document package to confirm funding is in place including a bond ordinance for $10.5 million, he said.
During public comment, resident Christine Miller said architects have said steel pilings, if used for the new facility, could rust between the high and low tides and need to be recoated every year. She asked what was the advantage of precast concrete pilings, which are under consideration for the new building, over wood or steel.
Miller also asked how wood or concrete piling would affect the geothermal system. Kimmel said wood piles could not support the weight of the new building. He said initially, concrete piles were deemed too expensive.
Kimmel said steel piles had at least a 60-year life and could corrode at the high-low tide mark where they are exposed to oxygen and water. He said the steel pilings would not be coated or maintained.
Markley said precast pilings may be less expensive than steel in the current marketplace. He said the option is to choose the least costly pilings as long as it meets the criteria for longevity and load capacity.
Kimmel said steel and concrete were neutral to geothermal systems but wood could have a severe impact.