Hartford architect to design Town Hall

EAST HAMPTON >> An architect has been chosen to design the proposed new Town Hall/police station.

Seven firms submitted proposals to design the new municipal building, which will — if approved by the voters — be built on a 5.4-acre parcel of land in the Edgewater Hills mixed-use development. The land on which the building will stand is being donated to the town by the developers of the project, Stephen J. and Lisa M. Motto.

The submissions from the seven firms were reviewed by Town Manager Michael Maniscalco and members of the town staff, he said last week. The applications were forwarded to the building committee, chaired by

Glenn Gollenberg, the architect for the high school.

The $51 million renovation and expansion of the high school is nearing completion.

Gollenberg came before the Town Council last week to outline the process that led to the selection of Amenta Emma Architects of Hartford.

“We short listed four firms that we intended to interview,” Gollenberg told the council.

The committee used “a quality-based selection process,” he said.

“We rated the firms and reviewed their fee proposals,” Gollenberg said. “The lowest qualified bidder was Amenta Emma.”

The firm is also the architect for the Edgewater Hill development.

In response to Gollenberg’s presentation, Councilor Kevin Reich said he was “very impressed with the process (the committee) is taking and the information we have received.”

The council — absent Councilor Mark Philhower — voted 5-1 to endorse the selection of Amenta Emma.

The lone no vote was cast by Councilor Ted Hintz Jr., who has opposed the process that led to the selection of the Mottos’ proposal to have the complex built on their property. In exchange for donating the land to the town, Stephen Motto will serve as the construction manager for the project.

Depending on the eventual cost of the project, Stephen Motto stands to make between $400,000 and $800,000. He had initially demanded that he would also choose the architect and the construction firm.

The council rejected those proposals, however, while agreeing to allow his to serve as the owner’s project manager.

Amenta Emma, which has offices in Stamford, New York City and Cambridge, Massachusetts, designed the UConn Co-op on the Storrs campus of the University of Connecticut as well as buildings on the Middlesex Community College campus in Middletown.

In addition, Amenta Emma also designed several buildings in the Blue Back Square and Bishop’s Corner developments in West Hartford, according to a portfolio of designs on the firm’s website.

Maniscalco said Amenta Emma submitted a bid of $897,000, $153,000 less than the second-place firm, Kaestle Boos Associates Inc. of New Britain, which bid $1.05 million for the project.

The work includes the design of the building — which preliminary estimates put at between 32,000 to 40,000 square feet.

Amenta Emma will also be required to provide a detailed plan as well as the floor plans, Maniscalco said.

FILE PHOTO