Craig Daily Press

Craig — Colorado Northwestern Com­munity College officials are preparing to head into the first stages of designing a new academic building for the college’s Craig campus.

In May, CNCC hosted a meeting designed to generate interest from firms qualified to design the planned 78,000-square-foot building.

The gathering came after Gov. Bill Ritter signed a bill last month allotting a portion of federal mineral lease dollars to higher education construction projects across the state. CNCC received $23.5 million of the $200 million earmarked for higher education projects.

Twenty-four companies turn­ed out for last month’s meeting, said John Boyd, CNCC president.

However, only half of those companies were willing to take the next step.

Of the initial 24 companies, about 12 submitted their qualifications for the design project, Boyd said, thus expressing their interest in taking the job.

“That’s not a bad number,” he said, adding that receiving qualifications from about one in every two companies that came to the first meeting is “fairly high, compared to normal.”

The company’s submission of qualifications acts like a résumé. The document details the firm’s experience and makes a case for their suitability for the job.

During the next step in the process, college officials will review each company’s qualifications, measuring them against the college’s standards.

The firms’ locality is one aspect college officials will consider, Boyd said. Other criteria include companies’ experience working on similar higher education projects and their familiarity with local and state building processes.

The qualification review process is designed to “narrow (applicants) down to a workable number,” Boyd said.

Next week, the college is scheduled to begin reviewing qualifications the companies submitted, said Gene Bilodeau, CNCC Craig Campus dean.

Once CNCC officials select a company to design the new academic building, they will begin discussing the cost and scope of the project.

Boyd estimated the college will pay about $163,000 of the total estimated $2.1 million cost for architectural design and engineering of the new building.

The college’s sum will pay for portions of the building that generate their own revenue and thereby cannot be paid for with state funds, including bookstores and cafeteria areas.

Ultimately, the college will shoulder 10 percent of the entire building’s cost, leaving state funds to pay for the remaining 90 percent.