Video: High Bids Delay CalStar Work

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LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) — Lowndes County is going back to the drawing board to meet a new industry’s needs. But county leaders say it shouldn’t slow Cal Star down much.

Bids on the renovation and expansion of the county’s 100-000-square-foot spec industrial building came in between $300,000 and $700,000 over estimates. The low bid was $4,010,000 and the estimates for the expansion, renovation and parking areas had been between $3.4 million and $3.7 million.

CalStar wasn’t willing to make up the differnce. State and federal loans and grants are paying for much of the work and CalStar will repay the money through a lease agreement on the building, which was built five years ago in an efort to attract industries to the industrial park near Golden Triangle Regional Airport.

The site is across from Stark Aerospace.

Architects have met with CalStar to redesign the building to take new bids. They hope the changes will bring the project in under estimates and still allow construction to be completed by next summer.

The Wisconsin-based company plans to make environmentally friendly construction materials like bricks, pavers and stones.

CalStar’s process doesn’t use kiln-fires, takes less electricity and has few polluting emissions.

The plant will initially hire 17 people at least 58 within the next three years.