Template revised January 10, 2019.
COMMISSION
AGENDA MEMORANDUM
Item No.
8g
ACTION ITEM
Date of Meeting
March 26, 2024
DATE: January 30, 2024
TO: Stephen P. Metruck, Executive Director
FROM: Jennifer Maietta, Director, Real Estate Asset Management
Susie Archuleta, Sr. Real Estate Manager
Jessica Brown, Sr. Environmental Management Specialist
Rod Jackson, Capital Project Manager
SUBJECT: Bell St. Garage Guardrail Upgrade Design and Construction (CIP # C801406)
Amount of this request:
$4,553,000
Previously Authorized:
$300,000
Total requested project cost:
$4,853,000
ACTION REQUESTED
Request Commission authorization for the Executive Director to advertise and execute a Public
Works Building Engineering Systems (BES) Contract to replace the Bell St. Garage guardrail
system in the central parking garage and bring railing system up to current code. This guardrail
upgrade project has an estimated total project cost of $4,853,000. The amount requested under
this authorization is $4,553,000 ($300,000 was previously authorized by the Economic
Development Division).
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
On the weekend of September 23, 2023, a passenger vehicle drove through the Bell Street
Central Parking Garage guardrail on the 5th Floor and fell 4.5 stories onto the BNSF train tracks
below, impacting a slow-moving train before landing on the ground. Fortunately, the train broke
the fall of the car, and the driver was able to walk away with minor injuries. Since then, it has
been established that the guardrails of the central garage were designed and built per the code
in place at the time. This project will retrofit or replace forty (40+) guardrail sections with a design
that meets current commercial garage code. A third-party contractor will be selected for the
Project to analyze, design, permit, and install the new guardrail utilizing the Building Engineering
Systems (BES) method of procurement.
COMMISSION AGENDA – Action Item No. 8g Page 2 of 6
Meeting Date: March 26, 2024
Template revised June 27, 2019 (Diversity in Contracting).
JUSTIFICATION
This Bell St. Garage Railing replacement project supports the Port’s Century Agenda objectives
under the following strategies:
(1) Safety improvements are primary for this project.
(2) Advance this region as a leading tourism destination and business gateway.
(3) Use the Port’s influence as an institution to promote women and minority business
enterprise (WMBE) growth, small business growth and workforce development.
Further, the project supports the following additional imperatives:
A. Upgrade railings to comply with current code
These upgrades will bring the central garage guardrails up to present commercial garage
codes.
B. Leverage Specialized Expertise
Garage guardrail upgrade work completed alone is a specialty market and local
availability of experienced contractors is limited. Further, public projects are perceived as
more labor intensive and therefore less profitable. This makes early procurement
imperative.
C. Meet Contemporary User Experience Expectations
The existing garage guardrail is now over 31 years old. In addition to improving safety, a
guardrail upgrade will improve the look, feel and function of this system.
D. Sustainability
The project will explore the possibility of re-using the existing guardrails to reduce
embodied carbon in construction.
The Bell St. Garage provides parking for visitors and tenants to access the Pier 66 Cruise Terminal,
Bell Harbor International Conference Center, offices, hotels and nearby restaurants, among other
valuable amenities to the central waterfront. Replacement of the Bell St. central garage guardrail
system—original to the garage—will not only replace or sustainably re-use the essential system
but also modernize the system per code by improving the Bell St. Garage’s aesthetic appearance
through design and color.
Diversity in Contracting
Project staff along with the Diversity in Contracting Department have set a woman and minority
business enterprise (WMBE) aspirational goal of 12% for this project.
COMMISSION AGENDA – Action Item No. 8g Page 3 of 6
Meeting Date: March 26, 2024
Template revised June 27, 2019 (Diversity in Contracting).
DETAILS
The Bell Street Garage is comprised of three sections, each built independently in different years
as noted below:
Location Year Built
Central garage 1983
East garage 1998
North garage 2000
The guardrail system for each garage section is unique to only that section and is not consistent
across all three garage sections. During the era when the central garage was being designed,
commercial garage building code did not exist. It appears that the central garage guardrail was
constructed as designed. The east and north garages were designed in eras where commercial
garage building code did exist. Therefore, this project is focused on the central garage only and
bringing that guardrail system into compliance with current commercial garage building code.
The existing damaged partial height guardrail on the 5
th
floor of the central parking garage is
located between two columns, which are spaced approximately 25’-6” on center. The guardrail
is attached at the base to the concrete slab utilizing cast-in-place anchor plates, which met code
at the time of its installation. Upon impact from the vehicle, the guardrail system broke away at
the base. Damage observed is primarily limited to the guardrail attachment to the slab. The
concrete slab does not appear to have sustained substantial structural damage/.
The proposed Bell St. Central Garage Guardrail System upgrade will bring the railing up to current
code. This project will be competitively procured as a Building Engineering Systems (BES)
contract. In accordance with RCW 39.04.290, the Port may award contracts of any value for the
design, fabrication, and installation of BES, by using a competitive bidding process or request for
proposals process where bidders are required to provide final specifications and a bid price for
the design, fabrication, and installation of building engineering systems, with final specifications
being approved by the Port. This procurement strategy was chosen because a simplified and self-
contained turn-key solution is available, while labor and materials represent a large percentage
of the project cost. Further, this provides opportunities for quality, efficiency, and risk reduction
for the Port. Port staff will provide project administration and oversight.
The project will replace critical guardrail components for the Bell Street central garage railing
while scheduling to avoid cruise ship operational disruptions.
Scope of Work
The scope of work for this project includes, but is not limited to, the garage guardrail system
improvements at the Bell St. Garage:
(1) Evaluate existing Bell St. Garage guardrails in Central Garage only.
(2) Contractor provided design services.
(3) Salvaging or reusing guardrail components.
COMMISSION AGENDA – Action Item No. 8g Page 4 of 6
Meeting Date: March 26, 2024
Template revised June 27, 2019 (Diversity in Contracting).
(4) If possible, provide future low maintainability.
(5) Propose and explore options for appealing aesthetics and appearances through
materials and/or color.
(6) Installation of new guardrail system.
Schedule
Activity
March 26, 2024
May 2024 thru Sept 2024
Q4/2024
Q1~Q4/2025
Q2/2026
Cost Breakdown
This Request
Total Project
Design & Construction
$3,869,000
$3,869,000
POS Soft Costs
$684,000
$984,000
Total
$4,553,000
$4,853,000
ALTERNATIVES AND IMPLICATIONS CONSIDERED
Alternative 1 – Maintain Status Quo. With this alternative, the various existing parking garage
guardrails may be insufficient to contain runaway vehicles at the Bell St. Central Garage.
Cost Implications: $0
Pros:
(1) Lowest capital cost option
Cons:
(1) Does not advance the environmental goals.
(2) Does not address potential future accidents at the guardrail.
(3) Does not address current code concerns.
This is not the recommended alternative.
Alternative 2 – Repair only the damaged guardrail section at the Bell St. central garage.
Cost Implications: $96K
Pros:
(1) Replaces or retrofits only one damaged section of guardrail.
(2) Damaged guardrail section can quickly be replaced or retrofit.
(3) Lowest capital cost option: 1/40 the cost of the recommended alternative
(4) Does advance the environmental goals at only this section of the guardrail.
(5) Does address potential future accidents at only this section of the guardrail.
(6) Does address current code updates at only this section of the guardrail.
COMMISSION AGENDA – Action Item No. 8g Page 5 of 6
Meeting Date: March 26, 2024
Template revised June 27, 2019 (Diversity in Contracting).
Cons:
(1) Does not address future code updates at other areas of the central garage.
(2) Does not advance the environmental goals at the other areas of the central garage.
(3) Does not address potential future accidents at the other areas of the central garage.
This is not the recommended alternative.
Alternative 3 – Complete Central Bell St. Garage Guardrail Improvements at the perimeter of the
parking garage to improve the safety of all garage users. This is consistent with the Port’s business
strategy to “Position the Puget Sound region as a premier international logistics hub”.
Cost Implications: $4.8M
Pros:
(1) Replaces or retrofits forty (40) sections of guardrail including connection to the
structural system.
(2) Advances the environmental goals at all sections of the guardrail.
(3) Addresses potential future accidents at all sections of the guardrail.
(4) Addresses current code updates at all sections of the guardrail.
Cons:
(1) Highest capital cost option.
(2) Construction period is several months long.
(3) Capital costs are forty times more than Alternative 2.
This is the recommended alternative.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
Cost Estimate/Authorization Summary
Capital
Expense
Total
COST ESTIMATE
Original estimate
$4,853,000
$0
$4,853,000
AUTHORIZATION
Previous authorizations
$300,000
0
$300,000
Current request for authorization
$4,553,000
0
$4,553,000
Total authorizations, including this request
$4,853,000
0
$4,853,000
Remaining amount to be authorized
$0
$0
$0
Annual Budget Status and Source of Funds
This project was not included in the 2024 Plan of Finance. This project will be funded using EDD
Reserve C800216. The updated current total project cost estimate is $4,853,000 and has been
included in the draft 2025 Capital Plan.
COMMISSION AGENDA – Action Item No. 8g Page 6 of 6
Meeting Date: March 26, 2024
Template revised June 27, 2019 (Diversity in Contracting).
This project will be funded by the General Fund.
Financial Analysis and Summary
Project cost for analysis
$4,853,000
Business Unit (BU)
EDD Portfolio Management
Effect on business performance
(NOI after depreciation)
Annual depreciation will increase by approximately $97K
based on estimated 50-year service life, thereby reducing
the NOI by the same amount.
IRR/NPV (if relevant)
NA
CPE Impact
NA
Sustainable Evaluation Framework Summary:
The Bell Street Central Garage guardrail upgrade project has been assigned a Tier 1 rating under
the Sustainable Evaluation Framework (SEF), so does not require the full SEF process but does
require some sustainability elements beyond typical Port design.
Those elements are:
(1) This project will endeavor to reduce embodied carbon by attempting to re-use existing
guardrail in design. If this is not possible, the project team will procure environmentally preferred
materials.
(2) The project will support the community by improving the aesthetic appearance of the Bell
Street Central Parking Garage through design and color.
ATTACHMENTS TO THIS REQUEST
(1) Presentation slides
PREVIOUS COMMISSION ACTIONS OR BRIEFINGS
None