OC San advances $8.5m laboratory design-build phase amid $10m cost gap
Orange County Sanitation District, California · Meeting date: November 4, 2026 · Published: November 6, 2026
Orange County Sanitation District’s Operations Committee approved Sundt Construction for Phase 1 services on a 56,000-square-foot replacement laboratory at Plant No. 1. The preliminary-design phase will test potential savings and establish a guaranteed maximum price after an initial construction-phase estimate came in about $10 million above budget.
Key points
- Sundt Construction will provide Phase 1 progressive design-build services for the New Laboratory Facility, Project J-133, for up to $8,496,991, with a 10% contingency bringing the authorised upper limit to $9,346,690.
- The project will replace OC San’s existing Plant No. 1 laboratory, which staff said has seismic and code deficiencies, HVAC problems and insufficient working space.
- The planned 56,000-square-foot laboratory will be built on the Mount Langley property, where an existing structure will be demolished.
- OC San said the contractor’s preliminary construction-phase figure was about $10 million higher than the project budget; staff will use Phase 1 to refine the design, assess reuse of existing equipment and mitigate risks before returning for Phase 2 approval.
Full report
Orange County Sanitation District has moved its replacement laboratory into progressive design-build, approving an $8.5 million Phase 1 contract with Sundt Construction while seeking to bring an early construction estimate back into line with the project budget.
The Operations Committee approved Phase 1 services for the New Laboratory Facility, Project J-133, for an amount not to exceed $8,496,991. It also approved a 10% contingency, setting a Phase 1 upper limit of $9,346,690.
The project will deliver a 56,000-square-foot laboratory on OC San’s Mount Langley property, across the parking lot from its headquarters. An existing structure on the site will be demolished. The existing laboratory is located at Plant No. 1.
Staff said a 2023 study found that rehabilitating the current laboratory would require extensive work to address seismic and code deficiencies. The building was also found to be too small for operational needs. A staff presentation said the replacement option would allow current laboratory operations to continue until the new facility is commissioned.
The committee’s approval covers only the preliminary design and preconstruction stage. Staff said the contractor had provided an early, high-level construction-phase figure that was approximately $10 million above the budget. One director described the overall project budget as $129 million.
Project staff said the Phase 1 process would examine opportunities to reduce the figure, including bringing equipment across from the existing laboratory, addressing price fluctuations, mitigating risks and evaluating seismic design criteria. OC San plans to return with a firm upper limit and subsequently seek a guaranteed maximum price amendment for Phase 2 final design and construction.
The district selected Sundt after receiving eight proposals and shortlisting four firms for interviews. The procurement combined technical proposal scores, interview scores and Phase 1 pricing, with the pricing component added to encourage more competitive bids. Staff said Sundt’s proposed Phase 1 price was below OC San’s budget and that negotiations had confirmed the scope assumptions and contract requirements.
The committee also discussed site connectivity. Staff said the design-builder would consider how to make the new facility and existing headquarters read more like a campus, including potential parking-lot connections subject to city approval. The existing Plant No. 1 laboratory is expected to be demolished under a future project rather than as part of J-133.
This summary was generated by AI based on the source document and may contain errors.
Source: OPERATIONS COMMITTEE, Orange County Sanitation District