Higher Construction Cost on New Airport

The cost of construction for the new Bay County Airport has risen $13 million to $331 million. The rise in materials cost is the major contributing factor. Still, all things considered, this doesn't seem too bad considering the Grand Lagoon Bridge construction cost went up 49%, this is only 4%. Why is that number so different anyway? Are the materials used that different? Or is there other factors that I’m not aware of?

A link to the airport article can be found by clicking here. The article about the Grand Lagoon Bridge can be found here.

Some think we should reflect the increase in cost in the asking price for the old airport site. That's just the thing, there was no asking price. The board had an idea on what they would need to make the relocation happen, however, the process was to include bids in order to bring the highest price the market would yield. In addition, the bidding process on this particular transaction did not allow competing bids an awareness of what the competition was offering. This allows the natural process of professionals offering what they think the property is worth given the current market conditions.

At this point, if the board goes back to the bidders and states that their offers are not enough to cover rising construction costs, they risk losing some if not all competent bidders all together. One has to remember, the bidders placed a bid based on what they believed the property to be worth, which in turn was based on their market analysis and future viable plans for the property. If they are asked to pay more, they may say, "No thanks, I've got another opportunity somewhere else that is better at this point."

Obviously, the money has to come from somewhere, and no Cathy, in my infinite wisdom, I don't have any suggestions. All I'm saying is that we have to be careful or the buyers may walk.