The
Sundial Center Reconstruction Processs
The Recreation
Centers of Sun City, Inc., wishes to respond to the concerns expressed
by residents about the Sundial reconstruction.
Immediately after the collapse in June
2006, RCSC filed a claim with the company’s insurance provider, The
Cincinnati Insurance Companies. Cincinnati Insurance then began
conducting their investigation and RCSC simultaneously began to work
with engineers and architects to determine the extent of the damage and
explore options for rebuilding. At that time the RCSC Board earmarked $2
million from the Capital Preservation Fund to begin the process for
reconstruction. This amount was not an estimate for the cost of the
entire project, however.
Cincinnati Insurance continued to
delay the decision on the claim and draw out their investigation,
effectively preventing RCSC from moving forward with the planning and
reconstruction since any construction at the facility would possibly
negate any claim. The RCSC Board of Directors also sought legal advice
regarding the next steps in the reconstruction process, as well as any
possible claims the corporation could have against the insurance
company.
“We have always understood the
difficulty the lack of an indoor pool presents to our residents,” said
RCSC Board President Denny Nichols. “But our cardholders also need to
understand some of the legal reasons behind this perceived ‘delay.’ Our
legal counsel advised us that there would be limitations on moving
forward with the reconstruction before the insurance company’s
investigation was completed.”
RCSC was still doing everything it
could to move forward the reconstruction plan, RCSC Assistant General
Manager Jim Wellman noted. In addition to the insurance company’s
investigation, there were thorough structural inspections of the damaged
areas as well as the entire Sundial facility. Site plans and
architectural drawings had to be developed and engineers hired to
complete the electrical, mechanical and structural engineering work so
the architectural plans could move forward. Once the architectural plans
were completed they were quickly submitted to Maricopa County Planning
and Development for permit approval.
“A lot of planning is going on behind
the scenes for a project of this magnitude,” Mr. Wellman said. “There
were many steps that had to be taken before we could apply for a permit
and begin the actual reconstruction, and the insurance investigation
certainly caused delays with that process.”
Mr. Wellman also noted that
the planning process has actually moved along
very quickly considering the amount of planning required for a project
of this size. RCSC has been planning the Sundial project for less than a
year, in contrast to the three years of planning required for the recent
Bell Recreation Center renovation. The Bell Center facilities, however,
were able to remain open during the renovation, while unfortunately the
Sundial facility must remain closed.
In February 2007, RCSC learned that
the insurance provider had denied the claim. An engineering firm hired
by Cincinnati Insurance determined that “material defects in the
composition of the support gluelam beam that spanned across the south
end of the pool” caused the beam to fail and collapse the roof. Losses
due to material defects in property are excluded from RCSC’s insurance
policy.
Because RCSC had been working out the
details of the reconstruction since immediately following the collapse,
the corporation was able to proceed with the project even though the
insurance claim had been denied. Drawings for the project were completed
in January, so in mid-February RCSC filed a building permit request with
Maricopa County and submitted building plans for approval by the county.
The county returned those plans with some required changes in late
March, a very fast turnaround time due to an appeal from RCSC to
expedite the permitting process. RCSC resubmitted the plans to the
county at the end of April. On May 23, the county came back with a few
more required changes to the plans. The project architects made those
corrections and the plans were resubmitted to the county on June 4. RCSC
is now awaiting final approval for the building permit.
The Weitz Company has been hired as
the general contractor for the project. RCSC is currently finalizing a
construction contract with Weitz and determining the project schedule.
Once the permit has been received from Maricopa County, the construction
can commence.
Although final cost estimates for the
Sundial project have not yet been determined, the RCSC Board recently
agreed to put several planned capital projects on hold due to the cost
of the Sundial reconstruction, reported President Nichols. The total of
these budgeted projects is in excess of $1.2 million, according to Board
officials.
Contact: Lindsay Frost, RCSC Communications Coordinator
(623) 876-3060, ext. 3087;
lfrost@sunaz.com.
