Calabasas Civic Center breaks ground Saturday

$41-million complex to be ready in 2008

GLIMPSE OF THE FUTURE--A scale model depicts the new Calabasas Civic Center. Groundbreaking for the $41-million complex is this Sat., Jan. 6 at 11 a.m. and the public is invited. Construction at the site just behind The Commons shopping center begins Jan. 8. Ground will be broken this weekend on the long-awaited $41-million Calabasas Civic Center.

Mayor Dennis Washburn will serve as master of ceremonies for the event, which will feature a reception, music and activities for children.

"This event is a celebration of the completion of the first 10 years of work on the Civic Center project and the next 18 months to get the job done," Washburn said. "It's going to be a place for the people to congregate, to educate and to develop their community and continue to celebrate the success of our city."

The public is invited to gather with city and state officials for the groundbreaking ceremony Sat., Jan. 6 at 11 a.m. at the Civic Center site behind the Calabasas Library at Park Sorrento and Park Centre.

Washburn and other City Council members past and present will be on hand to celebrate, along with the Civic Center Task Force and Bessie Condos of the state office of library construction. Representatives from Harley Ellis Devereaux, in association with Robert A.M. Stern & Associates, the architectural firm that designed the project, will also be in attendance.

The center will be built on a 7.7-acre site and will include a two-story, 27,700-square-foot city hall, a 25,700-square-foot public library, a 3,000-square-foot assembly hall, an outdoor amphitheater and a public plaza.

Construction is set to begin Mon., Jan 8 following the groundbreaking.

Once completed in the summer of 2008, the Calabasas Civic Center will earn Gold Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

The LEED Green Building Rating System is the national benchmark for design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings. The city registered the project during development, and the organization provided a roadmap for how to create a building that conserves natural resources, has reduced operating costs and houses healthier occupants.

Years of planning

In August 2003 plans were drawn up for the center, and in January 2005 the preliminary designs were approved. In February, the city received the $800,000 first installment of an $8.2-million grant from the office of library construction. Later that year, the city purchased the property, and in May 2006 the project went up for bidding.

When the lowest bid came in at nearly $46 million--the city's construction budget was $35 million--the bid was rejected and the City Council instructed its staff to reduce the size of the project. The underground parking structure was eliminated and the plans went to bid again in October.

Bernards Bros., Inc. of San Fernando offered the lowest bid at $31.3 million, which was officially accepted by the City Council on Nov. 1. Total cost of the project will reach $41 million, officials said.