Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

On Tuesday, the Troup County Board of Commissioners approved a guaranteed maximum price (GMP) contract with Sheridan Construction for the Oakfuskee Conservation Center at Pyne Road Park for $11.1 million.

Architect Skip Smith and Assistant County Manager Jay Anderson updated the commission with information from Sheridan Construction about the start of the construction, noting that they hope to start the build on Aug. 1.

“To help fund the project, we have secured a $1.5 million grant from the Callaway Foundation and a $1.8 million grant from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources,” Anderson said. 

According to the document brought forward by Anderson and Smith, on Feb. 1 the Troup County Board of Commissioners approved Sheridan Construction as the construction manager (CM) at Risk for the Oakfuskee Conservation Center.

“It’s been about a two-year process that different groups realized the need for this type of facility out of Pyne Road Park and that we have such a great property out there, that just needs to be utilized more,” Anderson said.

Since the approval, Sheridan Construction had been providing pre-construction services and working collaboratively with Troup County staff and Smith. According to the document, Sheridan Construction reviewed all the construction documents and provided initial construction cost estimates, engineering alternatives, constructibility reviews and maintainability reviews.

Sheridan Construction will be responsible for methods of construction, bonding and insuring the project, workplace safety, general conditions, certification of work in place, monthly payment requests, and the scheduling and coordination of the work for all construction and contracts required for the completion of the project.

As stated in the document, the GMP and the final construction documents include a main floor of approximately 9,865 heated square feet (hsf) with 5,445 square feet(sf) of outdoor covered porch area and a basement lower level of approximately 9,795 hsf with 4,640 sf of outdoor covered patio area. The main floor level includes a banquet area with roughly 350 seats, outdoor covered porch with about 200 seats, a grand foyer, offices, catering kitchen and restrooms. 

The basement lower level is opting to include several multi-purpose rooms, restrooms, storage rooms and mechanical rooms.

The Oakfuskee Center will also include a covered drive-thru entrance and approximately 259 parking spaces with room for additional overflow parking. The project schedule was authorized in July and has an estimated completion date between October or November 2023.