EPHRAIM— Snow College has contracted with Layton Construction to build the George S. and Dolores Dor Eccles Center for the Performing Arts.
A committee of four people, including Snow President Michael Benson, evaluated bids from 11 construction companies during May.
The significant factor in Layton's winning bid was a commitment to finish the performing arts center by Aug. 1, 2003, within the budget Snow has been given for the building, Benson said. Snow's original estimate of project completion was Jan. 1, 2004. The earlier date would allow use of the building for the 2003-04 school year. Construction was to begin Monday, June 3.
The Layton bid was $14,256,500. Although other prospective bidders were somewhat lower, Benson said, the added commitments from the Salt Lake company made it a more attractive bid. None of the companies had bids over the projected $15 million cost.
Besides agreeing to finish construction earlier, Layton will install tunneling that will be important as the campus expands. The company also will demolish and remove the Crane Theater from the campus to make room for future building, Benson said.
Two Layton employees, Brian Hobbs, project manager, and Lyle Miller, project superintendent, will live in Ephraim throughout construction. They have committed to use as many local companies in the project as possible.
When complete, the center will be the finest of its kind on a two-year college campus in Utah, Benson said. It will house the Maurine D. and M. Seth Horne School of Music and the theater arts program.