Hillsborough selects Sundt for $145m South County drinking-water CMAR
Hillsborough County Water Resource Service, Florida · Meeting date: October 21, 2026 · Published: October 22, 2026
Hillsborough County commissioners have authorized negotiations with Sundt Construction Inc. for construction-manager-at-risk pre-construction and construction services for the South County Drinking Water Facility. The procurement carries an estimated total cost of $145 million, although a final agreement must return to the board for approval.
Key points
- Sundt Construction was selected as the highest-ranked and best-qualified firm for CMAR services on the South County Drinking Water Facility.
- The Water Resources Department estimates the procurement at $145 million; no funding was required for the selection and authorization to negotiate.
- A negotiated agreement will be submitted to commissioners for approval and execution.
- The CMAR and Water Resources Department must present design documents and the engineer's estimate to establish an SBE participation goal when design reaches 60%-90% completion.
Full report
Hillsborough County has taken the first procurement step toward its South County Drinking Water Facility, authorizing negotiations with Sundt Construction Inc. for a construction-manager-at-risk (CMAR) contract estimated at $145 million.
The selection was approved through the county’s consent agenda on 21 October. Sundt was identified as the highest-ranked and best-qualified firm under procurement CMAR-26-00264 for Water Resources Department pre-construction and construction services.
The action does not itself award a construction contract or appropriate project funding. Instead, it permits the county to negotiate with Sundt; Water Resources will return to the Board of County Commissioners with the resulting agreement for consideration, approval and execution once negotiations are complete.
The CMAR approach places the selected contractor into the project during pre-construction as well as construction. The agenda identifies the combined estimated cost of those services at $145 million.
No Small Business Encouragement (SBE) participation goal was included at the selection stage. The county said that, once engineering documents are between 60% and 90% complete, Sundt and the Water Resources Department will submit the design documents and engineer’s estimate to the Economic Development Department, which will establish an SBE goal.
The drinking-water-facility procurement was one of several Water Resources actions approved at the meeting. Commissioners also approved a five-year, $5.37 million sole-source agreement with Agora Water Solutions for Wet Well Wizard aeration systems and associated parts, and authorized a 10-year minimum-volume gas transportation agreement for a new high-pressure natural-gas feed to the Northwest Regional Water Reclamation Facility.
Under the latter agreement, Peoples Gas System will construct, equip, monitor and remotely control the pipeline at no upfront cost to the county. Hillsborough County committed to 36.5 million therms over 10 years, or 3.65 million therms annually, while securing a transportation rate of $0.14 per therm for the period.
This summary was generated by AI based on the source document and may contain errors.
Source: BOCC Regular, Hillsborough County Water Resource Service