SUNSET BEACH — Construction has resumed at Banzai Rock Skatepark and is expected to be complete by the end of August, but the facility will be about one-third smaller than expected and cost the city more than the $587,760 stipulated in the original contract.

The general contractor, PER Inc., halted work earlier this year and asked for an additional $100,000 to complete the skatepark, citing escalating construction costs and unforeseen site conditions. Since then, PER had been in talks with the city, and recently agreed to complete the work for far less, said Eugene Lee, director of the city Department of Design and Construction.

Unsuitable soil conditions proved a stumbling block for the contractor, forcing the company to redesign and relocate the facility on the site, Lee said. Also, a new consultant was hired to help finish the facility, a move some members of the community are not happy with.

The scaled-down project will be about 7,500 square feet instead of 11,000 square feet and the bowl will not be as deep, Lee said. Nevertheless, he said, the completed park will be an asset to the skateboarding community.

"I know that there's a lot of concern about it being a nonfunctional facility when it's built, but it's still going to be a significant facility," Lee said.

Skateboard park advocate James Cuizon is not so sure, and he wants the park built according to the original plan created by Dreamland Skateparks. Cuizon said he fears that the new designer won't uphold the quality Dreamland is known for.

"That was a world-class park that they had initially designed," he said, adding that he can understand the need to reduce the size of the project because of cost but that Dreamland should finish the work.

Cuizon said he is frustrated that the city doesn't force the contractor to finish the project as originally planned or go after the company's insurance bond to pay for any shortfalls.

However, the design-build project is unlike other projects, where the city has a plan and the contractor submits a bid to build it.

The company only had to meet certain loose parameters, get city approval for the design then build it within the budget, Lee said.

The builder is getting a little more money for the work, but Lee wasn't certain about the exact amount.

As for the bond, the city only goes after that if the project isn't completed, he said.

"That's only if the contactor defaulted," Lee said.

The project was initiated in 2002 and a $587,760 contract was awarded in 2003. Construction began in 2006 but stalled earlier this year.

PER Inc. expects to finish the project, said Waley Kwock, project engineer.

The soil problem cost the company an extra $30,000 and now Dreamland is asking double the fee it had agreed to several years ago to help build the concrete bowls, Kwock said.

"They want to come down and do it but we don't have the money," he said, adding that PER has hired California Skateparks, which has built skateparks at Manana and Kapolei.

Dreamland could not be reached for comment.

Kwock said the city agreed to give his company about $9,000 more to finish the project.

Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com.