Cosmopolis delaying construction on new Municipal Building

Cosmopolis, WA – The City of Cosmopolis is delaying the start of construction on their new Municipal Building project.

In a release the City says that the project, which was approved in 2019, was intended to be in the construction phase by this point.

They say that the planning and design process was hampered with access and staffing delays due to the pandemic.

According to the release, the rising price of lumber is now the cause of their current project delay as prices have skyrocketed more than 180% since last spring. 

They say looking at the needs of the project, some increases have reached levels as high as 300% of pre-pandemic pricing.

After discussions with their staff and Harbor Architects LLC, they have chosen to delay the start of construction until prices can adjust downward. 

With their available funding, this is cost-prohibitive.

“The current price of building materials would require drastic alterations to the building plans that would be a detriment to the final project if we were to begin construction as planned this Spring. We will continue to monitor the pricing and work on finishing the construction and bid documents before determining when it makes sense to go out to bid.”

They say that they are looking at Spring 2022 as a tentative date for a groundbreaking.

“This is unfortunately one of the numerous impacts that the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has brought upon our small municipality.” said Mayor Kyle Pauley, “While I look forward to continuing the process as soon as possible, I am also watching the current restrictions and ramifications of this pandemic and know that there are no certainties until the economy moderates.”