The Jasper City/Library LLC has awarded Krempp Construction a $13,761,000 contract to build the Thyen-Clark Cultural Center.
The cultural center will unite the Jasper Community Arts Commission and Jasper Public Library in one building at the corner of Third and Mill streets in downtown Jasper, The Dubois County Herald reported.
Construction will begin April 1, with an 18-month completion schedule. Hafer Associates of Evansville will serve as the engineering firm overseeing the project.
The bid came in about $700,000 over the construction budget of $13 million that city and library officials have worked with since the library campaigned for a property tax referendum for construction in 2016. However, the total project’s — which includes soft costs such as furnishings, and engineering and design costs — is $17 million, so library and city officials are confident they will be able to move funds around to cover the higher construction cost, the Herald reported.
“We don’t feel as though our budget has changed,” said library director Christine Golden. “It’s like a puzzle. We’ve just moved pieces around to make it work.”
The state has already excused the project from sales tax charges, which will save about $500,000, and the project will be able to avoid capitalized interest on construction bonds, which will save an additional $400,000. The Jasper Library, Enrichment, Arts and Downtown (LEADs) fundraising campaign that focuses on the cultural center has already raised $4.8 million, and will pick up speed again, hopefully bringing in additional funds for the project.
“We’re excited to work with Krempp on this,” said Golden, adding that it’s nice to have a local contractor who will take pride in the project.
Jasper Mayor Dean Vonderheide was also happy to see the contract go to a local company. “It’s what we always hoped for,” he said.
