New Hanover County is seeking a construction manager at risk for an estimated $11 million to $12 million replacement of the Division of Juvenile Justice facility at 138 N. 4th St. in downtown Wilmington.

The change from a one-story structure to an estimated three-story, 35,000-square-foot building to house courtrooms and related space is necessary because North Carolina is raising the age of juvenile jurisdiction to 18 years old for non-violent offenses, explained Chris Coudriet, New Hanover County manager. The age change takes effect Dec. 1, 2019.

The existing structure (pictured at right) on North Fourth Street will be torn down and replaced by the new, larger facility.

"That's where the majority of state juvenile justice functions take place for this district so that obviously needs more space," Coudriet said. "The county provides the space; the state provides the services. And what's going to happen, as the age is elevated, it's going to put, appropriately, more service responsibility on the Division of Juvenile Justice. They're going to have to serve more kids than they have historically."

Part of what the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners agreed to when it approved this year's budget this summer was the design of the new juvenile justice division facility, Coudriet said.

The design firm is Moseley Architecture, according to a request for qualifications (RFQ) issued by the county this week. The deadline for proposals for firms that want to be in the running to provide construction-manager-at-risk (CMAR) services for the facility is 5 p.m. Aug. 15.

According to the RFQ, the proposed schedule for the project is for the schematic design to be completed by Sept. 25 and construction to be done by December 2020.

The CMAR model is also being used for the county's new Public Health and Social Services facility at 1650 Greenfield St. The four-story 96,000-square-foot building was designed by Sawyer Sherwood & Associate Architecture and is being built by Monteith Construction.

In development in general, the CMAR model is considered a cost-effective approach, with less risk to a property owner, because one firm is tasked with delivering a project for a guaranteed maximum price.