Village of Great Neck trustees on Tuesday selected Melville-based H2M architects + engineers to do the preliminary architectural and engineering work on a proposed new Village Hall and Department of Public Works facility to be located at 265 East Shore Road.
Village of Great Neck Mayor Ralph Kreitzman said H2M has done sewer and civil engineering work for the village before, but that this is the first time the village has asked them to do architectural work.
“Their ideas, none of which we are wedded to, seemed very good and their quoted price was less than the other [firms],” Kreitzman said.
Kreitzman said the price for H2M’s architecture and engineering services is about $508,000.
Village Clerk Joe Gill said that architecture and engineering services include the preliminary design and engineering of the property, but none of the construction. The village still has to negotiate a contract with H2M, but trustees voted to allow them to commence their work on the project.
Gil said it is still too early in the process to say what the new facility will cost. There are many variables that can go into the cost of the site, he said.
Kreitzman said the village will attempt to obtain grants to offset some of the cost of the building.
He said H2M is ready to start its work next week, which will include looking at square footage of the current building and trying to come up with how much the village will need at the new site.
Kreitzman said the current Village Hall, located at 61 Baker Hill Road, does not currently meet village needs, and that the second floor of the building is not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Village trustees said they were impressed with H2M not only for their quoted price.
“We not only took their price into consideration, but we also took their workability and initial renderings into consideration,” Trustee Barton Sobel said. “H2M gave a better all around package.”
Gil said the process of finding a firm to do the initial architectural work began in October, and in late November bids were received from five different companies, all of which gave presentations to the village.
He said three firms were asked to come back with additional information, and after all that information was received, H2M was thought to be the better firm.
“Both with experience and our first reaction to what they might design, [H2M] won,” Kreitzman said.
