The grand opening of the Dublin Heritage Park & Museum has been pushed out to spring 2011 due to delays with the project’s original general contractor, Elite Landscaping. Elite was recently fired from the project based on undisclosed reasons; however, the firing could have been due to project delays and escalating costs. The first phase of the Heritage Park is roughly 50% complete.

The City of Dublin hired megacorp contractor Bovis Lend Lease, Inc. to complete phase one. As part of the hiring, Dublin City Council also authorized the City of Dublin to spend an extra $768K to complete Phase One. Given Dublin’s ballooning operating budget deficit, how the City of Dublin will pay for this significant cost overrun in the amount of $768K remains unclear. The additional expense could be indirectly pulled from the $5M community benefit payment the City collected from the Jordan Ranch project’s developer for waiving the subsidized affordable housing requirement.

The City of Dublin chose to forgo the 60-day competitive bidding process typically required in selecting Bovis Lend Lease, Inc. The City felt that the extra 60 days could pose a legal liability, if trespassers were to hurt themselves while visiting the unsecured buildings and the large open trench at the Heritage Park site.

Phase One of the Dublin Heritage Park & Museum will include various landscaping features and the renovated Kolb family buildings. The City of Dublin spent over $1M to relocate and renovate the Kolb family buildings:

• Hay Barn – this structure will be a shelter for the Orchard Garden play area.
• Sunday School Barn – This structure will have a multi-use classroom space, reception & event area, a potential Black Box Theater, and an optional dressing room addition. The Sunday School Barn replaces the Pavilion that was included in the initial plan.
• Old House and Pump House
• Main House – This building will have an office, museum, and garden area.

Dublin’s highly anticipated Heritage Park will bring much needed park space to west Dublin and should prove to be a tremendous resource for the Tri-Valley.