Marin Center to begin $7.5M campus improvement project

Crews are expected to descend on the Marin Center campus in San Rafael next month to begin a $7.5 million construction project.

The Marin County Department of Public Works awarded the contract to Bauman Landscaping and Construction Inc. on Thursday following a second round of bids, said Julian Kaelon, spokesperson for the department.

“The project was developed in 2012 and the funding set-aside process began at that time,” Kaelon said.

The parking lot and substructure are more than 50 years old, deteriorating and in need of replacement, Kaelon said.

The campus is the home of the Marin Veterans Memorial Auditorium, the Exhibit Hall, the Showcase Theater and the county fairgrounds. The parking lot is also used for the weekly farmers market.

“We are utilizing this opportunity to improve the north campus’ entire entryway,” Kaelon said. “This effort will infuse the public area with an improved design and functionality for years to come.”

The project aims to reconfigure the parking lot layout to improve traffic flow, parking and pedestrian access to the Marin Center facilities. The project will add new lighting and drought-friendly irrigation for landscaped areas.

The new pavement will be pervious concrete to treat stormwater. The project will also include permeable drainage areas. New drains and storm drain piping will be installed, as well as conduits for electrical wiring and new fiber-optic cables beneath the surface.

A Caltrans grant is covering about $1.6 million of the project cost, with the rest coming from capital improvements funds.

The county was forced to rebid the project in July because of an error in the application form. At that time, the county received five bids ranging from $8.11 million to $11.58 million.

Bauman Landscaping and Construction Inc., which was selected earlier this month from a pool of two, was the lowest responsible bidder in both rounds. The project is expected to be completed in May.

The project overlaps with the seismic retrofit of the Marin Veterans Memorial Auditorium. The county hired Plant Construction Co. to perform the $6.1 million retrofit.

Approximately $3.7 million of the funding for the retrofit came from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The remainder comes from the county’s capital improvements fund.

The project includes strengthening the theater stage roof diaphragm, strengthening stage walls, bracing the plaster ceilings and reroofing above the theater stage. The retrofit is expected to wrap up in the spring.

With 2,001 seats, the Marin Veterans Memorial Auditorium is the county’s largest indoor performance space. It was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright contemporary Aaron Greene and others at the Taliesin architecture program that Wright founded.

During emergencies, the auditorium serves as an evacuation center and shelter.

Gabriella Calicchio, the county’s director of cultural services, the department that oversees events at the center, said the auditorium construction work is phase one. Later upgrades will include new seats, a sound wall and a larger lobby, she said.

“At this point, the VMA parking lot construction and the seismic work are about creating a safer experience for our visitors,” she said. “The future of our campus is really where we are looking forward to creating a state-of-the-art performance venue which will be a destination for our community.”