Syracuse IDA grants waiver for nonlocal foundation contractor on Northside Genesee after local bids fall through

The Syracuse Industrial Development Agency voted to grant a requested waiver from its local-access bidding policy to allow a nonlocal contractor to perform the concrete foundations, slabs and reinforcement package for the Northside Genesee project after several previously identified contractors declined to reaffirm pricing.

Otis DeLuca, the project manager, told the board that the Northside project was bid in 2023 and again this spring after financing delays. He said the team initially sent the package to 23 contractors (16 within the local-access area and 7 outside); when the owners sought reaffirmed prices a year later many contractors were unavailable because they had taken on other work. “We put a waiver in for an exception to the local access for the concrete foundations, slab work and reinforcement for the Northside project,” DeLuca said.

DeLuca said the reaffirmation process resulted in five bids, four from local firms and one from a nonlocal firm, Rigoni Foundations, which submitted the successful bid for a package valued at roughly $3,500,000—about 5.4% of the overall construction cost cited in the agency packet. Agency staff and representatives from Huber Brewer said prices returned in line with expected inflation; the larger issue was contractor availability rather than a dramatic price increase.

Board members asked about the local economic impact of awarding the package to a nonlocal contractor. Eric (agency staff member) provided a rough rule-of-thumb breakdown, estimating that about 35–40 percent of the foundation package cost would be material; he noted the reinforcing steel (rebar) for this package will come from an out-of-area supplier but said the concrete itself will be purchased from local concrete suppliers. Huber Brewer representatives and agency staff emphasized continued efforts to use local contractors and vendors where feasible and said Huber Brewer self-performs certain minor scopes (temporary heat, trailers, progress cleaning, infill carpentry) rather than bidding out every element.

The board approved the waiver by voice vote after a motion by Ken (board member) and a second by Ricky Brown. Agency staff provided a letter from Huber Brewer explaining the rebidding efforts and contractor outreach. The approved waiver allows the owner to contract with Rigoni Foundations to start the foundation work immediately to keep the project on schedule.

The board recorded no public opposition during the discussion. Staff noted follow-up actions: confirm local-sourcing details for concrete and materials where possible and document the outreach effort and reasons for the waiver in the project file.