Newport Beach is set to award Irvine-based builder C.W. Driver a $14.6 million contract for the early phases of its civic center construction project.

Plans for the new civic center, which will be located at Avocado Avenue and MacArthur Boulevard, include a new city hall, expansion of the central library, an espresso bar, an underground emergency operations center and a dog park. City officials want to get started soon on things like site grading and the construction of the parking lot.

In the past, city officials expressed determination to cut costs on the project, which at one time was estimated at $140 million.

Tonight council will also consider a $5 million contract for San Francisco-based architecture firm Bohlin Cywinski Jackson to prepare construction plans for the project.

— ADAM ELMAHREK

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