The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Crisis center price goes up, yet still is under $15M budget
It’s 1st facility of its type to be publicly funded in Fulton.
A change order Fulton County commissioners approved Wednesday will add $3 million to the cost of the county’s new Behavioral Health Crisis Center — but that still will be just under the construction project’s $15 million original estimate.
The crisis center, the first to be publicly funded in Fulton County, is being added to the existing Oak Hill Child Adolescent & Family Center at 2805 Metropolitan Parkway SW. It will be operated under contract by Grady Health Services, and is scheduled to open later this year. The state budget includes more than $13 million in annual operating funds for the center.
“This $3 million change order represents the advice we have received from our operator, Grady, and the state to address safety concerns,” said Pamela Roshell, the county’s chief operating officer for Health, Human Services and Public Works.
Commissioners unanimously approved the change order.
The center will have a full pharmacy, and most of the added cost will go toward building that to state standards, she said. A separate cost overrun of $160,000 likewise will be absorbed by the change order.
The county has allocated Federal American Rescue Plan Act funds for the project.
The design-and-build contract commissioners approved last year was for $11.4 million. Adding the change order will bring the total to $14.4 million, county documents show.
The Oak Hill center, which houses a community kitchen, childhood hearing test lab and other community services, will remain in operation. Those facilities will be renovated, and one wing of the current structure eventually will house youth mental health services.
A new wing will add more than 23,000 square feet for the crisis stabilization center.