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March 21, 2008
Dear Black Butte Ranch Property Owner,
In our recent March 15th meeting, the BBR Association Board of Directors voted unanimously to proceed with Welcome Center construction by authorizing the Facilities Implementation Task Force (FITF) to enter into a Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) contract with our general contractor. The purpose of this letter is to provide additional background and information related to this decision.
For several years, management, staff, and a succession of owner task forces and boards of directors have agreed there is a compelling need to improve our access and registration at Black Butte Ranch. Our current approach, with staff divided between the Lodge and access building, is operationally inefficient and detrimental to our goal of improving customer service. The existing access facility is literally falling apart and does not, by any standards, reflect the quality experience defined by our Mission Statement. With their approval of the MIP projects in 2005, property owners voted to address this situation through construction of a new facility.
The Welcome Center design has been more thoroughly considered than any other new construction in the history of the Ranch. The proposed solution is the result of significant homeowner input, multiple traffic studies and other professional analyses, and hundreds of hours of task force consideration. The building has been downsized to minimize costs while still providing a first-class entry experience. Dozens of potential locations were considered in terms of this experience, impact on traffic, operational efficiency and flow of visitors throughout the Ranch.
In particular, the Lodge was closely evaluated as a potential alternative for access and registration. Unfortunately, this facility does not meet many of the requirements necessary for this function. One of the largest challenges relates to the Lodge's inability to accommodate high volumes of visitors. During peak summer weekends, the Ranch receives over 400 cars and trucks each day that require access and registration. This volume would easily overwhelm the Lodge facility, creating difficult traffic, parking and customer service problems. The Board recognizes the value in attracting visitors to the Lodge area, but believes there are other more practical options for accomplishing this goal.
With property owners' approval of the dues increase, there is sufficient short- and long-term funding to begin construction immediately, with the objective of project completion in early 2009. This timeline assures continuity of architect, general contractor, project manager and the FITF, and best leverages the $200,000 already expended to get to this point. Fortunately, we are experiencing one of the most favorable construction environments in recent years. While we continue to look for potential additional cost savings, the current GMP proposal provides a forecasted project completion at $116,000 below budget. We are very optimistic the completed Welcome Center will make property owners proud by greatly improving the entry experience at Black Butte Ranch.
Thank you.
Lynn Stafford
Chair, BBR Association Board of Directors |
