Construction Manager At Risk (CMAR)

As part of the 2004 Public Construction Reform Act, a building delivery method known as Construction Manager at Risk or CMAR was introduced as an alternative to the traditional Design-Build method of constructing public buildings valued at $5 million dollars or more in Massachusetts.

The CMAR method has been used successfully in other states including nearby Connecticut. CMAR is used increasingly in the private sector, including locally for major building projects like the Cooley Dickinson Hospital New Patient Building and Surgery Center and Smith College's Ford Hall.

Under Construction Manager at Risk, a city or town prequalifies and selects a Construction Manager (CM) during the design phase. The CM provides planning, estimating, scheduling and other consulting services to the city/town and Architect during the design phase.

When the design is near completion, the CM and the municipality negotiate a Guaranteed Maximum Price ("GMP") and schedule. The CM then acts as the general contractor during the construction of the project and prequalifies and procures all of the construction trade contractors that will perform the work.

The CM is required to share all cost information with the municipality so that it will only pay for the Cost of the Work plus an agreed fee for the CM up to the GMP.

Here are some of the recognized benefits of CMAR:

- The ability to prequalify and select a Construction Manager ("CM") on the basis of its reputation and record in controlling costs, meeting deadlines, and satisfying customers.

- The participation of the CM in design and phasing decisions so that "unbuildable" or costly design details or phasing plans may be avoided and design/drawing inconsistencies may be limited.

- The CM's ownership of the construction budget through early cost estimating leading to a Guaranteed Maximum Price ("GMP") for the work.

- The ability to "fast track" the start of construction by bidding early trade contracts which the CM will ultimately incorporate into the final GMP.

- The right and responsibility to monitor and audit the construction costs of the project to ensure the city pays only the costs of the work plus the agreed fee to the CM.

- A spirit of cooperation between the owner, architect, CM and trade contractors due to a defined allocation of project responsibilities and the CM's interest in obtaining strong references for future work.

After extensive review and discussion, the Police Station Building Committee has elected to utilize the Construction Manager at Risk method for the new Northampton Police Station project.

A Request For Proposals (RFP) for project management services was issued at the beginning of 2007 and following a proposal review and interview process the Committee selected the firm Pinnacle One to serve as project manager for the Police Station project.

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