CC 03-07-2023 Item No. 12 FY 23-24 five-year plan for CIP. _Response to Councilmember Questions1
3/07/2023 City Council Meeting Item #12 Fiscal Year 2023‐24 five‐year plan for Capital Improvement
Program (CIP).
Staff’s responses to questions received from councilmember are shown in italics.
Q1: " Remind me again. For the estimate of the new city hall, how was the $79M estimate derived?
(Chao)
Staff response: 80000sf x $900/sf = $72M, plus 5% escalation for each year in the future, for
approximately $79M: As mentioned in the discussion on the City Hall item during the Council meeting,
staff does not have sufficient time to prepare cost estimates or any feasibility studies presently, to
address Council’s request to consider a new City Hall building. We’re using the $72M as a placeholder
only. As part of the CIP proposal we’re requesting $1,000,000 in FY23‐24 to hire consultants to
review/develop programming, cost estimates, site options, etc. We will return to Council when we’ve
made progress and can report more effectively.
Q2: And that cost does not include the community outreach to come up with options, plus the design
cost, right? Plus project management? (Chao)
Staff response: The cost is vague and undefined, but ultimately we will need the cost estimate to be all‐
inclusive.
Q3: Plus the cost of an interim City Hall? (Chao)
Staff response: There’s a separate project in the CIP for this (called Interim City Hall, funded for
$500,000).
Q4: Could you please send me the staffing analysis Councilmember Moore mentioned, which was
shared with the subcommittee. (Chao)
Staff response: On the City Hall project page, “other information” tab, “10‐13‐2022 CH subcomm 04
parking planning” Page 39 of 40.
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Q5: I think I got confused. Let me try to clarify. What's the square footage for the new city hall option on
the Nov 2022 agenda? What's the estimated cost? (Chao)
Staff Response: $868/sq. ft. $27.5M. Please see attached “cost…” pdf.
Q6: What's the square footage for the new city hall option in the proposed 2022 CIP plan, which we
didn't approve? (Chao)
Staff Response: The design intent was to add a story to the existing footprint. Since the existing footprint
is approximately 12,000sq.ft. the total would be approximately 36,000sq.ft.
Q7: The current city hall space is 2500 sqft total, but it includes the EOC, and other equipment space.
What's the total space for office use then? (Chao)
Staff Response: The current city hall space that includes the mechanical space is 24,140 sq. ft. That is the
figure that has been used for permitting in years past. The amount of interior space excluding the
mechanical space is approximately 21,450 sq. ft. Please refer to the attached “workspace…” pdf.
Q8: What's the total sqft of the City Hall Annex? The lot size? (The meeting date where I can look it up?)
(Chao)
Staff Response: We most recently presented information on the City Hall Annex project at the 10/18/22
meeting, where we were seeking to award some contracts. The square footage of the building has been
reported at 5700 sq.ft., but that includes the use of a second story. The footprint of the building is 5000
sq.ft., and the site is 21,350 sq.ft.
Q9: What's the total sqft of the Library expansion? What's the occupancy? What's the cost of design and
the cost of construction? (The meeting date where I can look it up later?) (Chao)
Staff Response: The library expansion area is 5600 sq.ft. The occupancy is type A‐3, which is Assembly.
The cost of construction: $6.3M total, $1,123/sq.ft.
The cost of design: Rodan (Design Build Entity) + EHDD (Bridging Architect) = $1.05M
total, $188/SF
There were other costs associated with the project, such as construction management.
We’ve discussed the cost at meetings, probably the City Hall items, but I can’t point to a specific
meeting.
Q10: Does the $79M estimate for 80,000 sqft new city hall includes the design cost, which I know would
be $4‐5M? (Chao)
Staff Response: Yes
Q11: Some residents have requested for the Platinum standard building like the new Sunnyvale City Hall.
What's the cost to upgrade to the same standard as Sunnyvale? (Chao)
Staff Response: For all our building projects, we use the USGBC (US Green Building Council) rating system
of LEED as a baseline, requiring the consultants to review the project against the LEED checklist and
confirm that we could achieve LEED accreditation if we had chosen to participate in the USGBC system. I
haven’t checked the current costs, but it was true 10 years ago that it costs at least $30K to register the
project in the LEED system and more money to hire a consultant to process the paperwork. For the
Library and City Hall Annex projects, participation in the LEED rating system was not pursued.
Q12: Does the $79M estimate includes parking structure? How many parking spaces and the estimated
cost per space? (Chao)
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Staff Response: According to the Nov 2022 cost table (attached) the cost per square foot to use for a new
36,000sf building, essential facility, with underground parking was $582/sq.ft. $582 x 80,000 =
$46,560,000.
The cost per square foot goes down because the cost/sq.ft. of the underground parking is substantially
less than the building above it.
Councilmember Chao, the $79M is the worst case scenario. The only substance behind that number is
that we used the $900 (rounded from $908)/sq.ft. figure from the 11/2022 table of cost estimates as a
placeholder for the City Hall project based on the 80,00 SF concept that was mentioned by council. As we
mentioned to Council in the 2/21/23 meeting, given the short time between Council’s direction on the
project on 2/21 and the date of the first CIP presentation, the only option was to insert a placeholder cost
for the overall project, at this time. Staff will update Council as that information develops.
Q13: The motion by the council majority also includes the 500‐person event space, will you add it as a
separate future project? (Chao)
Staff Response: The action, as recorded by the clerk: “That staff, instead, return to Council with
options for a new city hall and civic center up to approximately 80,000 square feet including
flexible events programming space(s) suitable for events hosting up to 500 people and based
primarily upon options previously provided with the City Council at its meeting on November 15,
2022, with alternatives for such flexible events programming space at other city‐owned
locations, to be considered as part of the City Council’s March 7 consideration of the Capital
Improvement Program.”
Q14: What is the staff head at City Hall in 2012? That's the year the study started the outreach for a new
civic center plan, I think. I suppose they have analyzed the staffing needs then to determine the size for
the new city hall? (If you can point me to a council meeting date with such info, that's great.) (Chao)
Staff Response: You can find all these links on the Civic Center Master Plan page, which can also be found
on the City Hall project page.
The Civic Center Master Plan Framework from 2012 includes a report from Fehr & Peers
(traffic analysis, on page 48 of the overall report) that states: “The Cupertino Civic Center is
home to the Cupertino City Hall, Community Hall, Public Library, and Library Field,... The
shared parking lot provides parking for all of the Civic Center’s employees, visitors, and city
vehicles. The three uses employ a total of approximately 107 employees.” That is total for all
three buildings.
The 2015 CCMP appendix (page 132) states that there were 92 employees at City Hall in
May 2014.
In 2022, the city hall staff was 130, when CIP looked at the data. The FY23 budget book
stated there were 121 in city hall.
SCCLD said they have 35‐40 staff in the library every day.
You may find the Building Condition Assessment report from 2018 on City Hall to be helpful, but I do not
see where it lists the number of employees. On page 39, the section on “Space Programming” begins.
(The link can be found on City Hall Project page, under “other information” tab.)
https://www.cupertino.org/home/showpublisheddocument/31669/637959160551930000
Q15: How many city staff the City Hall Annex is expected to house? (Chao)
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Staff Response: The Annex can hold a maximum of 33 people. We are still working on the floor plans, so
that number may decrease.
Q16: This article (“Sunnyvale gets sleek new City Hall” in the San Jose Spotlight) states "The four‐story,
120,000‐square‐foot building is expected to produce enough clean energy to power itself... on the 26‐
acre civic center property...The first phase, which city officials said will cost roughly $315 million" That's
$2,625/sqft. For us, we also need to include parking. Sunnyvale likely doesn't need extra parking since
their city hall sits on 26‐acre city center, which has plenty space for parking. Is the $900/sqft estimate
realistic? Could you please let me know how this estimate came from? (Chao)
Staff Response: Our cost per square foot numbers are based on industry standards, and were originally
generated by professional cost management consultants. How can one logically reconcile the difference
between a $900/sq.ft. cost versus a $2625/sq.ft.? We’d have to know much more about what is included
in the Sunnyvale Civic Center. I do know that the article references a “four‐story, 120,000‐square‐foot
building” and later the article states “The new Sunnyvale City Hall, which is pending LEED Platinum
certification, is the focal point of the first phase of a planned massive civic center upgrade… which city
officials said will cost roughly $315 million, is partially complete and also includes a new 15,000 square‐
foot, two‐story addition to the current public safety headquarters building, which was finished last fall.
That new building has a dedicated emergency operations center, as well as more space for a detectives
bureau. About 17,000 square feet of the existing 35‐year‐old public safety headquarters is being
renovated as well, with updated crime lab space, locker rooms and evidence storage.” What we know to
be true: that $315M cost includes at least three different buildings [mentioned in the article].
Q17: The proposal for the 36,000 sqft City Hall in May 2022 and 3‐story parking was $75M, I think. The
cost is $2,083/sqft. How come the cost per square foot is dropped from $2,083 to $900? (Chao)
Staff Response: According to the Nov 2022 cost table, the cost per square foot to use for a new 36,000sf
building, essential facility, with underground parking was $582/sq.ft.
The cost per square foot goes down because the cost/sq.ft. of the underground parking is substantially
less than the building above it.
Councilmember Chao, the $79M is the worst case scenario. The only substance behind that number is
that we used the $900 (rounded from $908)/sq.ft. figure from the 11/2022 table of cost estimates as a
placeholder for the City Hall project based on the 80,00 SF concept that was mentioned by council. As we
mentioned to Council in the 2/21/23 meeting, given the short time between Council’s direction on the
project on 2/21 and the date of the first CIP presentation, the only option was to insert a placeholder cost
for the overall project, at this time. Staff will update Council as that information develops.
Q18: Since this is for next year's budget, is this just a 'heads-up' to Council? (Mohan)Staff Response: The Capital Improvement Program (CIP) is being presented to City Council for review of the proposed five-year plan, including the FY23-24 proposed projects. Staff will collect input, will work to make the appropriate adjustments to the plan, and will return to City Council for final acceptance of the CIP on April 4. Funding for the final CIP will be included in the City’s FY23-24 budget requests anticipated to occur in June.
Element Area SF Cost / SF
2023 Project
Total (+25% soft
costs)
2024 Project
Total (5%
escalation)
City Hall Renovation - Seismic Only, Non-Essential
Facility
24,140 $216 $6,506,635 $6,831,967
City Hall Renovation - Seismic Only, Essential Facility 24,140 $232 $7,007,540 $7,357,917
City Hall Renovation - Seismic, MEP/IT, Interior gut,
Non-Essential Facility
24,140 $807 $24,364,200 $25,582,410
City Hall Renovation - Seismic, MEP/IT, Interior gut,
Essential Facility
24,140 $868 $26,194,616 $27,504,347
City Hall Replacement, Non-Essential Facility 24,140 $804 $24,250,139 $25,462,646
City Hall Replacement, Essential Facility 24,140 $908 $27,401,918 $28,772,013
City Hall Replacement w/ Added Floor, Non-Essential
Facility
36,140 $809 $36,547,027 $38,374,378
City Hall Replacement w/ Added Floor, Essential
Facility
36,140 $914 $41,271,880 $43,335,474
City Hall Replacement w/ Added Floor + 100 spaces
Underground parking, Non-Essential Facility
70,140 $529 $46,339,451 $48,656,424
City Hall Replacement w/ Added Floor + 100 spaces
Underground parking, Essential Facility
70,140 $582 $51,064,305 $53,617,520
Funding
Cost
Estimates
61 seats, 9,950 sq ft 65 seats, 11,500 sq ft
21,450 sq ft with 126 seats =
170 sq ft per person
Space Programming (Interior)
Current Floor Plans