The New York herald., 1922-06-24
FULLER'S BID WINS
COURT HOUSE WORK.
Steel and Granite to Be Used
= at 81, 4,139, 900 Cost, Big
Drop in Two Years.
ENDS LONG CONTROVERSY
Award Is Not to Lowest Bid
der, but Officials Say 1t
Will Prove Cheaper.

The new Court House. over which
there has been almost endless legisla-
tion and controversy, Is TO be built of
steel and granite by the George A. Full
Ter Construction Company. and will
cost for the superstructure and exclu-
sive of the rough plumbing A.l3s, 900.
The Board of Estimate, upon the report
of Comptroller Craig, awarded the con-
tract to the Fuller Company yesterday.
The Comptroller. who is chairman of
the Court House Committee. stated
that while the Fuller bid was some
what higher than the combination bids
from five other contractors which had
been under consideration. the city
would actually save, both in money and
time, inasmuch as separate inspection
offices would have to be established
should the work be divided.
Commissioner of Accounts Hirshfield.
who also investigated the bids. agreed
with the Comptroller. The difference
between the Fuller bid and the COM
bination was $203, ,000. He said that with
one contractor danger of damage suits
against the city. due TO a contractor
claiming delay caused by another con-
tractor would be avoided. Both Hirsh-
field and Craig favored the use Of
granite rather than limestone.
Architect Fnvors Granite.
Guy Lowell, the architect, whose
plans won the competition several years
ago before the Court House became a
matter of political controversy, told the
board that as the site was to be the
center of a civic area, the two impor-
tant buildings in close proximity. the
Municipal Building and the Hall of
Records, had to be taken into consid-
Grafton. These are of granite and in
his opinion 1t would be a grave mistake
to construct the Court House. the GEN.
ter building of the group, of any other
material.
Comptroller Craig recalled some OF the
history of the attempts to get a new
court house, the clashes that resulted,
the appointment of court house board
and the divided responsibility that re-
suited. He continued:
las a consequence nine years elapsed
before a site was selected and acquired.
The first site was superseded and sup
plemented by the acquisition Of an addi-
tional site. in which title was vested in
the city in 1913. The necessity for this
acquisition was the discovery that the
site first acquired was underlaid with
subway construction and quicksand to
an extent that made it impracticable to
construct a courthouse upon 1t"
Cost So Far Is $15,OOO,OOO.
The cost of the site which borders in
Lafayette street just north of the Mu-
nicipa Building, with the interest and
loss in taxes. is approximately s15,00o,-
600. the Comptroller said. He concluded:
For purposes of comparison it may
be stated that If granite is used both
in the base and superstructure the cost
on the bids now under consideration, in
Guiding drainage and rough plumbing
will be s4,221. .7S6 as against s6,2I0300 on
the bid of two years ago for the same
work, a reduction of s2,04s.5l4. On the
present bid. using limestone for a super
structure on granite base, the cost.
including drainage and rough plumbing.
would be s3.5703s6 as against a cost of
s., ,642. 900 for the same work on the bids
OF 1920. or a reduction of $2.07l. .sl4"