Bellevue recouping City Hall costs

Bellevue's expensive growing pains at City Hall are continuing to subside.

The City Council on Monday night unanimously approved a settlement with the architecture firm designing the $122 million City Hall complex for cost overruns on the project.

The settlement provides for SRG Partnership to pay Bellevue $5.2 million for its role in the overruns, which are projected at $20.3 million. In exchange, Bellevue has agreed to release the company from any future liability for cost overruns on the project.

A similar agreement was approved in March with the project's contractor, Lease Crutcher Lewis, for $4.8 million.

The new civic complex was plagued with construction problems that gradually increased construction costs.

Early estimates of the cost overruns put the extra cost at about $10 million. But after more claims from subcontractors began to roll in, that cost quickly increased to $20 million.

The two settlements from SRG and Lease Crutcher Lewis will leave a remaining $10.3 million shortfall for the city to pay.

That money could come from a current budget surplus, the city's capital-improvement program or new bonds issued by the city, Planning Director Matt Terry has said.

Despite the remaining cost for Bellevue, council members said they were generally pleased with the settlement.

"I wish we didn't have to be in this position," said Councilman Conrad Lee. "But we are, so we have to bite the bullet."

"When an owner can recover half of the cost of an overrun, that is great," he said.

Nathan Hurst: 206-464-2112 or nhurst@seattletimes.com