LARGO — The $85 million Horizon West Bay project has hit another snag, with a $500,000 change order to fix basic code compliance issues pushing the mixed-use development’s opening day back indefinitely and drawing sharp criticism from city officials past and present.
The change order with Biltmore Construction, needed to correct items critical to receiving a certificate of occupancy — including fire panel modifications and emergency exit sign locations — was met with fierce pushback at the March 3 City Commission meeting before passing 5-1.
Former commissioner Jamie Robinson, speaking during public comments, said the latest overruns are alarming — not because of the dollar amount, but because of what they’re for.
“What concerns me most is the items listed in this request aren’t upgrades or enhancements,” Robinson said. “They’re basic code compliance issues … and fundamental life safety and inspection requirements. So, the obvious question is, to me, why weren’t these addressed the first time?”
Robinson said the commission should receive a full accounting of project costs and prior change orders before approving additional funding. Staff said the $500,000 would be covered by excess interest earnings on bonds, money Robinson noted still comes from taxpayers.
“I pushed for this project when I was on the board, and I’m still a huge fan and want to see it come to completion,” he said. “I just want to make sure we’re open and clear about what we’re doing.”
Vice Mayor Chris Johnson, CEO of a fire protection firm, expressed disbelief that fire system changes were surfacing this late. When he asked who was to blame, Engineering Services Director Jerald Woloszynski said a final audit would answer that.
“This commission item does not tonight attribute blame to either the city, the designer or the construction team,” Woloszynski said. “When we do the project close-out, we’ll have a list of major items and in some cases who they are attributed to. But this is to bring Horizon across the finish line without that attribution.”
The assurances did little to ease frustration.
“It was really shocking to see some of these, and I am not pleased with this project,” Commissioner Michael Smith said. “This is way late in the game to catch things now. How did they miss these? How did we miss these?”
Smith also criticized the city for “moving the goalposts” on the opening, which has been pushed back more than a year due to construction problems and hurricane-related delays.
City Manager John Curp said the changes stem from errors in either design or construction that surfaced during building inspections.
“What’s unfortunate is that some of these items are ultimately critical path items where we cannot occupy the building unless they have been corrected,” he said. “We cannot occupy the building with a fire system that is not complete.”
Then Curp delivered the bottom line: If the commission didn’t approve the change order, Biltmore would not order the parts and would halt work.
“Really?” Commissioner Donna Holck said. “Isn’t that blackmail?”
Commissioner Jon Lauser likened it to the developer “holding us over a barrel.” Mayor Woody Brown agreed.
“We need to get in. We’re kind of over a barrel,” Brown said. “I hope that there’s a lot of investigation into what went wrong on these things because it’s really, really late to know we have to order a new panel.”
Brown acknowledged Biltmore’s strong track record and said the final audit would determine who should shoulder the blame.
Johnson said he would “end up voting for this because we need to open this building.” The motion passed 5-1, with Smith casting the lone no vote, which he called a protest. Commissioner Mike DiBrizzi was absent.
Restaurant buildout costs double
Earlier in the meeting, another Horizon-related item drew a split vote after being pulled from the consent agenda.
A proposed amendment to a lease with Pappas Fresh Greek restaurant would more than double the city’s contribution to the eatery’s buildout, from $125,200 to $300,000. The increase was driven by construction quotes that came back far higher than anticipated, reportedly exceeding $600,000.
Economic Development Director Charles Stanton said the restaurant’s owners revealed late last year that costs had ballooned, and they threatened to pull out without additional help. After officials learned that 50% of the buildout cost was for HVAC, plumbing and electrical work, the city increased its tenant improvement funds accordingly.
Brown said the money was already budgeted for leaseholder improvements in the building and noted that the equipment would stay if the tenant left.
The lease amendment passed 4-2, with commissioners Smith and Holmes voting against.
The Horizon project, which will feature more than 15,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space in addition to the new City Hall, does not have a new target opening date.