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Sheridan Construction was selected to construct the Oakfuskee Conservation Center at Pyne Road Park.

Sheridan was chosen among four other companies who submitted bids: Freeman & Associates, Headley, River City and Torrance. It was the fourth least expensive company at $541,477 for the total construction manager fee. Freeman was the most expensive at $826,750 while Torrance was least expensive at $513,750.

“When we do this, we consider everything [about the company], their experience, their past project, and the fee,” said James Anderson, special project manager for Troup County. “It’s all got to combine who we think is going to be the best construction manager for this particular project and give us the best value.”

Sheridan is charging a $7,500 lump sum for pre-construction services while its construction manger’s fee is $43,125. This fee includes bonds and insurance costs for the company. Its overhead monthly fee to manage the project is $19,897.  The project overall is estimated to take 14 months to complete.

“We would pay them $318,352 to manage [the project] through the course,” he said.

The project has a $6.3 million construction budget, $1.5 million of which came from a grant from the Callaway Foundation and $1.8 million from the Department of Natural Resources. The county will also provide $3 million from county SPLOST funds.

The building will be an event facility for weddings, family reunions, corporate events, fishing tournaments, birthday parties and more.

Per the project’s description, the 17,000 square foot multi-use conservation facility will include two levels with classroom and lab space for Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, an outdoor pavilion, an outdoor amphitheater, new service roads, sidewalks and nature trails. Additional plans call for the construction of a wildlife viewing deck, construction of a dock for the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper and construction of a new dock at Special Tree.

Phase 1 of the project includes finishing the top portion of the two-story building. The basement level, which will include classroom, meeting room and office space, will be finished in a later phase as funding comes in, Anderson said.

“Some of the other things we have [planned] as add-on alternatives when [funding] is available is an outdoor pavilion, outdoor fire pits and potentially an outdoor amphitheater that all overlooks the lake,” Anderson added.