Kirkland Foundation terminates contract with project architect

Posted: Wednesday, July 8, 2009 9:35 pm

The Robert E. and Jenny D. Kirkland Foundation is announcing the termination of its contract with Douglas Cardinal Architects Inc. of Ottawa, Canada, for the design of the 50-acre, multi-million dollar Discovery Park of America complex in Union City.
The innovative project, which was announced in The Messenger Oct. 10, 2007, has as its focus the presentation of exciting experiences in history, nature, art and science through exhibits and activities, according to a press release. Discovery Park of America is being made possible through generous financing by the Robert E. and Jenny D. Kirkland Foundation. The Kirklands are residents of Union City.
A spokesman for the project said in a statement released to The Messenger this morning,  “… due to what the Foundation believes are defaults in the performance of Douglas C. Cardinal Architect Inc. (“Cardinal”) of Ottawa, Canada, under the agreement between the parties, the Foundation has decided to terminate the agreement. The Foundation is in the process of obtaining a new architect.”
Ground was broken for Discovery Park of America July 1, 2008, on property located between Everett Boulevard and the proposed I-69 superhighway on Union City’s northwest border, just across the highway from Second Baptist Church. 
Jim Rippy, chairman of Discovery Park of America, said, “We encountered a number of performance and other issues with Douglas Cardinal Architects Inc. Extensive efforts were made to resolve these issues, including mediation, but these efforts have not been successful. The situation has reached a point where a change in architects is necessary to ensure success of the project.”
Rippy emphasized that the vision for DPA has not changed. “Discovery Park of America will be one of the premier educational destinations in the United States. We plan to move forward as quickly as possible and will immediately begin the process to select another architectural firm.”
The following questions have been posed in light of the announcement:
• Can you provide more information about the performance issues? “We can only say that there were different positions regarding the contract by Douglas Cardinal and the Kirkland Foundation related to performance, deadlines and cost. We were unable to resolve these and reached an impasse. We felt we could not move forward any longer with Cardinal Architects.”
• Will this action delay the expected opening date for Discovery Park? “Yes, it will delay the completion date, but we don’t know by how much. We have already encountered a delay due to these problems and it will take some time to select a new architect. We won’t have a projected completion date for some time.”
• What is the current status of construction? “The foundation is complete and underground utilities have been installed for most of the site.”
• What are the next steps? “We’ll assess the current status of work in progress and identify actions to be taken. Certainly, one of the most urgent things is to select a new architect and we’ll move forward on this as quickly as possible.”

Published in The Messenger 7.8.09

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