Two companies have submitted bids to build a new Merrimack County Superior Court in downtown Concord, according to the county administrator.
One is the Duprey Companies, owned by Steve Duprey, who originally concocted the plan to keep the courthouse on North Main Street, rather than build a new one on the Heights.
The other bid came from Vermont-based Dew Construction Corp. and its affiliate the MacMillin Company, which operates out of Keene. Vice President Ken Hoeppner did not return a call for comment Monday afternoon.
The aging superior court at 163 N. Main St. has long needed an upgrade. Last year, the Legislature set aside $16.6 million for a new building near its office complex on Hazen Drive. But county and city officials have rallied to keep the courthouse in the center of Concord.
With Duprey’s help, county and city officials pushed an alternate plan: to build a new courthouse immediately next to the existing one and demolish a nearby administrative building for parking. The current courthouse will likely be renovated for office space in the future.
The state Senate voted Thursday to approve a bill enabling that plan, and the governor has indicated she will sign it. Bids were due to the county Friday on the heels of that vote, and County Administrator Steve Marro said he opened them Monday.
Both came in under the project budget of $15.7 million, Marro said. He declined to elaborate on the details of the proposals or give a more particular cost estimate.
“We did hear back from several companies that said their workload would just not allow them to bid on it,” Marro said. “This is a very short time frame construction project.”
The payment schedule is also unique. The contractor will bear the cost of the project until the construction is done. Then, the state will take over the deed for the building and pay the county, which will in turn pay the contractor.
That financial structure will require an intense review process for these proposals, Marro said. He has assembled a five-person committee of county officials, including himself, to review the bids. The two companies will also come in for an interview.
“We’re going to sit down and study these things and tear them apart from various perspectives,” Marro said. “They’re both very reputable companies. Still, we have to do the vetting for the taxpayer.”
In the meantime, attorney Erin Vanden Borre of Hinckley Allen said the firm is working on contract language between the state and the county. That agreement would need to be approved by the Executive Council.
“It’s amazing how this project has touched all branches of government,” Vanden Borre said.
Hinckley Allen is not, however, helping to select the winning bidder. While the firm has represented the county thus far and advocated for the courthouse bill in the Legislature, it also has a long professional relationship with Duprey.
Should the Duprey Companies be selected for the job, Vanden Borre said the firm might need to reevaluate its role to be sure of an “even playing field.”
“It’s a complicated project, and some complicated roles need to be sorted out in the next few weeks,” she said.
The county administrator hopes to select a winner in about three weeks.
“My committee is really going to have to bust a hump in getting this done,” Marro said.
(Megan Doyle can be reached at 369-3321, mdoyle@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @megan_e_doyle.)