City Council opens bids for a portion of Heartland Art Center’s renovation project in downtown Plymouth

Wednesday, August 5, 2026 at 1:00 AM

By Kathy Bottorff

The Plymouth Common Council recently opened bids for a significant renovation project at the Heartland Art Center in downtown Plymouth, with two regional construction companies submitting competing proposals that differ substantially in price.

Local architect Brent Martin opened and read the bids aloud during the public meeting, with several members of the Heartland Art Center board present to hear the results firsthand. Funding for this phase of the comprehensive renovation comes from a READI 2.0 grant, which required the bids to be opened in a public meeting setting. City officials made clear during the proceedings that no additional city funds are being contributed to the project.

The two bidders were Ziolkowski Construction of South Bend and Brown and Brown from Wakarusa. Each company submitted a base bid along with separate bids for four alternate project components.

Ziolkowski Construction submitted a base bid of $1,398,500. For the alternates, Ziolkowski declined to bid on the first option — replacing and restoring the front and rear windows. Their bid for alternate two, excavating and installing waterproofing and drainage in the passageway between the Heartland building and the adjoining structure to the south, came in at $8,050. Alternate three, adding a new window opening at the rear of the building, was bid at $15,750. The fourth alternate — a complete tuckpointing of the rear of the building rather than simply repairing damaged masonry — was priced at $68,850.

Brown and Brown submitted a considerably lower base bid of $935,500. Their alternate bids were $133,800 for full window replacement, $15,100 for the passageway excavation and waterproofing, $9,600 for the new rear window opening, and $37,400 for complete rear tuckpointing.

The bids have been taken under advisement and will be reviewed by the Heartland Art Center before any award is made.