Commissioners voted 5-0 on Oct. 20 for two contracts worth $171.5 million to build drainage pipes and pump stations in Riverland and Melrose Manors.
The Fort Lauderdale City Commission on Tuesday approved two contracts worth a combined $171.5 million to build drainage systems in Riverland and Melrose Manors. Both neighborhoods flood in moderate to heavy rain because they have no comprehensive stormwater system, city staff said in the agenda memos.
Updated Oct. 23: both contracts passed 5-0 at the Oct. 20 meeting, according to the city’s meeting record. Commissioner Pam Beasley-Pittman, who represents District 3, moved both. The record lists the Riverland item at $82,643,846: the contract price plus the $3 million for city project management and inspection set out below. The spending still depends on a budget amendment listed for Nov. 6.
The items were M-2 and M-3 on the agenda for the regular meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 20.
The two contracts
| Neighborhood | Contractor | Contract price | Boundaries |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riverland | David Mancini & Sons Inc. | $79,643,846 | Broward Boulevard to Davie Boulevard, SW 27th Avenue to I-95 |
| Melrose Manors | Man-Con Inc. | $91,840,159 | Broward Boulevard to Davie Boulevard, SW 31st Avenue to SW 27th Avenue |
Each project also carries $1 million for city project management and $2 million for construction engineering and inspection. That puts the full cost at about $177.5 million, according to the Riverland memo and the Melrose Manors memo.
Both neighborhoods are in Commission District 3. The work was first planned and designed as one project in the city’s Fortify Lauderdale program.
What will be built
The scope in both memos includes:
- drainage pipe and structures
- stormwater force mains and pump stations
- exfiltration trenches and water quality structures
- relocated water and sewer lines
- restoration of roads, driveways and swales dug up for the work
Substantial completion is estimated at about two years from the contractor’s second notice to proceed. Each contractor will pay the city $2,500 a day for unexcused delays. The city will own the system and take over its upkeep once the one-year warranty ends.
How the city got here
The contractors approached the city, not the other way around. Florida law lets a company send a local government an unsolicited proposal for a public project, and the memos set out the steps:
- Dec. 23, 2025: the city received the two proposals, one for each neighborhood.
- May 5, 2026: the commission accepted them and opened a 21-day window for rival bids.
- June 4: the window closed. No other proposals came in.
- June 16: the commission told staff to negotiate final agreements.
When the proposals arrived, city engineers put the combined project at $134.1 million to $171.4 million at 60% design. The two contract prices together come to $171,484,005, at the top of that range.
The memos say each contractor carries the risk of rising labor, material and tariff costs. Unused contingency money and savings go back to the city, and change order markups are capped at 10% for overhead and 5% for profit.
The spending also depends on the commission approving a consolidated budget amendment, which the memos list for Nov. 6.
What it means for you
If you live or own property in Riverland or Melrose Manors, the vote starts the clock on roughly two years of open-trench drainage work on your streets, with driveways and swales restored afterward. Work begins after the contractor’s second notice to proceed. The memos say the city will lead community outreach during construction.
For the neighborhood itself, see our Riverland guide. For current street closures across the city, see road construction and closures. Our king tides page covers the coastal flooding expected through Oct. 31, and who to call at City Hall lists the departments behind this work.
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