“School District of Lancaster eyes firms for upgrades; Would pay architects $3.8M to design next phase of project” reports: “School District of Lancaster plans to pay architects $3.8 million to design the next phase of upgrades to district schools and administrative offices. ..
“Under the proposed contracts, the architects would be paid 6 percent of the projects’ costs, slightly less than the 6½ percent the district is paying DLR Group, which designed the first phase of upgrades, said Matt Przywara, SDL’s chief financial officer….
“Those projects, which total about $54.9 million, are expected to be completed by next school year…” (more)
WATCHDOG: Although 6% of project cost is a normal rate of pay for a package of architectural and engineering design services, given the steep recession, especially in the construction industry, the school board might have been able to get the work done for somewhat less.
What is not stated in the article is whether inspection of all aspects of the construction is included in the 6% rate. It is essential that the architect provides these services and accepts responsibility for monitoring that all of the work is performed correctly.
