Engineering, design of Ogdensburg child care center getting underway

Apr. 10—OGDENSBURG — The design phase of the Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority's project to build a new child care center will soon be underway.

The OBPA Board of Directors on Friday ratified a deal with C&S Companies to provide engineering and design services for the 15,000-square-foot facility. The board agreed to spend up to $423,000 on the services.

C&S will be responsible for drawing up programming schematics, design development and construction documents.

OBPA officials estimate that will be done by late fall. Once the authority has the schematics and specifications, they'll come up with a construction bid package and seek proposals and estimates. Construction is anticipated to start in early spring 2025.

When finished, the center will have 125 child care slots, with 30 to 40 employees.

ARC Jefferson-St. Lawrence will run the facility, which will cost an estimated $4.7 million to build and be situated on a 3.5-acre lot in the OBPA Commerce Park.

OBPA board member Toni Kennedy said the newly approved deal is a new milestone in a long process.

"I'm happy we're finally here. It's been a long time coming. I'm thrilled. They were very impressive," she said during Friday night's OBPA board meeting.

OBPA officials have previously said they expect construction to start this year.

This is the second child care center deal the OBPA board approved with C&S.

In January, the Board of Directors voted to pick C&S from four candidates that responded to the authority's request for qualifications.

It will provide services including preliminary design, final design, construction support and construction inspection.

The company has offices around New York state, including Watertown and Plattsburgh.

The RFQ process is common when seeking professional services.

It takes money out of the selection process so it's based on which company is the most qualified — request for qualifications — rather than which is offering the best price.

In December, the OBPA board approved a deal with the Development Authority of the North Country to administer $1 million from the federal government that will go toward building the child care center.

"(DANC) won't have anything to do with construction ... more on progress and payments and things like that. They make sure we do it the right way. They're going to be our partner in this and considering how much work there it, it's a good thing," OBPA Executive Director Steven J. Lawrence said in late 2023.

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