The famed architectural firm that left the Justice Center project disputed on Tuesday Denver officials’ claims that its design was significantly over budget.
Steven Holl Architects partner Chris McVoy said the city’s budget estimate that came out after Holl’s high-profile departure was not based on Holl’s drawing.
Holl was hired as a subcontractor with local architecture firm Klipp after an international search.
Denver officials maintain that Holl’s design was at least $31 million over budget for the $127 million courthouse.
But McVoy said that figure was based on “assumptions they had made about our design, and it was very sketchy.”
The Holl design was $3.7 million over the $99.1 million construction budget when Denver officials estimated it was as much as $34 million over, McVoy said. McVoy said the design was as much as 10 percent over budget at one point, but the last preliminary design was on budget.
Justice Center project manager James Mejia, however, repeated that Holl’s design would have put the project more than $30 million over the budget and did not meet the requested functions – or program.
“If (McVoy) is giving any number that is less than that, it doesn’t include the entire program – plain and simple, Mejia said. “Even without our program they were over budget.”
Much of the dispute with the courthouse design has centered around courtrooms. Denver officials wanted space for 35 courtrooms – 29 of which would be ready opening day, and the rest would be “shelled” until they were needed years later.
Mejia said Holl’s design called for the space for those “shelled” courtrooms to be used for other purposes in the meantime, requiring an addition and expense down the road.
“What they have done is they have said, ‘Yeah, we’ll give you that space, but on opening day, the district attorney is going to be in that courtroom – or the public defender is going to be in that space,”‘ Mejia said.
“Well guess what, then when you are ready to use those courtrooms you’re having to expand space. You are having to actually build new space for the district attorney or public defender.”
McVoy said plans did call for three shelled courtrooms to be used, but he said “the city was open to such a solution at that time as a means to meet a very tight budget.”
Mejia also said the Holl estimate had fundamental mistakes.
“Their estimate is based on 310,000 square feet,” he said. “Their drawings are for 331,000 square feet. That alone, the 20,798-square-foot difference, accounts for $6.4 million.”
McVoy said Holl and the firm “take budgets very seriously and have met very tight budgets on all government projects we have undertaken.”
Staff writer George Merritt can be reached at 303-954-1657 or gmerritt@denverpost.com.
