#04 Review of and Council direction on downtown parking structure project
Community Development Department Memorandum
May 11, 2009
TO: City Council
FROM: Brad Cantrell, Community Development Director
SUBJECT: Review of Downtown Parking Garage Project
SUMMARY
The City recently contracted with Arnold & O’Sheridan Inc. to provide
engineering, design and cost estimates for the construction of a four level, 225
stall parking garage on the City owned surface parking lot at the corner of North
Parker Drive and East Wall Street. The four level parking garage is estimated to
cost $4.4 million including engineering design. If authorized to proceed the final
design of the structure will be completed for bidding in June and July with
construction commencing in September. The parking garage will be completed
in the late Spring of 2010. Community Development staff desires to present the
parking garage plan to the Council, ask for direction and request authorization to
proceed to final design and bidding.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
The Community Development Department recommends that following a staff
presentation on the parking garage, the City Council authorize staff to proceed to
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final design and bidding of the project. On May 4the Plan Commission
endorsed the architectural design of the parking garage and forwarded the plan
to the City Council with a favorable recommendation.
SUGGESTED MOTION
Move to authorize staff to proceed to final design and bidding of the Downtown
Parking Garage.
CITY MANAGER RECOMMENDATION
The City Manager recommends approval to proceed with a four level parking
garage to accommodate approximately 220 parking spaces.
BACKGROUND
The Downtown Vision & Strategy completed in 2007 recommends the City focus
its efforts at revitalizing existing buildings and increasing activity levels in the core
of the downtown. Today’s society requires convenient access and parking for
successful business locations. Without adequate parking in close proximity to
major activity centers, current development efforts will languish.
The Community Development Department believes that the lack of parking
readily accessible to the major downtown office buildings has provided a
disincentive in attracting office uses in the area. Staff believes that the city
should become more proactive in providing parking in the Downtown area.
Structured parking is the only viable option available to provide parking that is
readily accessible to office buildings in the Downtown area.
The City decided to explore a variety of locations and options for a parking
structure. Ayres & Associates was contracted in early 2008 to evaluate multiple
parking structure designs for locations at Parker Drive & East Wall Street (subject
location) and the “Johnson Bank” site along North Main Street.
While staff ultimately believes that multiple parking structures will likely need to
be constructed in the downtown area, the first priority location was determined to
be the Parker/Wall street location.
ANALYSIS
A. The proposed parking structure will be constructed over the existing
surface parking lot at the corner of North Parker Drive and East Wall
Street. No property acquisition will be necessary. The structure has been
designed to have four levels and provide 225 parking stalls. The structure
has also been designed for the future addition of a fifth level if necessary
because of increased parking demand.
B. Because of the sloping grades existing at this site, access to the ramp will
be provided from East Wall Street and North Parker Drive. The “ground
level”, or first, level of the parking ramp is designed to be separated from
the rest of the structure with access provided only from East Wall Street.
The other three levels of the parking ramp will be connected by an internal
ramp with access provided from North Parker Drive. By having the other
levels separated, the ground level will be more open and allow for more
parking stalls and space that could be used for Community Events
including the farmer’s market in inclement weather. The fourth floor of the
structure will remain uncovered as roof level parking. A four level option
has a construction estimate of $4.4 million and would provide 225 parking
stalls. Staff has also prepared a preliminary design option for a 3 ½ level
structure shown in attached elevations in order to reduce costs. The 3 ½
level structure would accommodate 185 parking stalls and cost
approximately $4.1 million.
C. Stairwells will be located at the southeast and southwest corners of the
structure with an elevator located at the southwest corner. The stairwells
and elevator will be accessible to all four floors.
D. The structure has been designed to accommodate an enclosed bridge
connection from the second level of the ramp to the adjacent Helgesen
Building located at 101 East Milwaukee Street. The previous parking
structure also had a bridge connection from the ramp to the Helgesen
Building. The bridge structure will be bid as an add-on alternate and
potentially be constructed with the project if favorable bids are received.
Staff has had several discussions with the owner of the building, and feels
that this connection is desirable to provide tenants direct access to the
structure. The structure has also been designed to allow for a future
bridge access to the third floor of the Odd Fellows building located on
North Main Street if that is determined necessary in the future. In addition,
the structure will provide for pedestrian access from the second level to
the alley located on the south side of the structure.
E. The existing alleyway located behind 18-22 North Main Street will remain
open to allow access to the existing surface parking lot located on North
Main Street and provide access to dumpsters located at the rear of the
businesses (see attached ground floor site plan).
F. The structure will be constructed out of precast concrete as opposed to
poured in placed (post-tensioned) concrete which typically has a higher
construction cost. The architect has provided two options for the exterior
façade: thin brick or molded concrete. The thin brick façade is a technique
in which a thin layer of brick is adhered to the precast concrete structure to
provide the appearance of a full brick façade. This technique was recently
used on the new building constructed by Forward Janesville at 18 South
Jackson Street. Molded concrete also provides the appearance of a brick
façade by molding and staining concrete to appear as brick. The thin brick
option provides more maintenance flexibility by being able to replace
chipped or damaged pieces of the façade, and there is no need to repaint
or stain the surface over time. However, a thin brick façade typically has a
higher upfront cost. Overall budget considerations will predicate which
façade surface is ultimately used.
G. Because the building is within the Downtown area and adjoining the East
Milwaukee Street and North Main Street National Register Historic districts
the parking garage design committee was concerned that the structure be
designed in a manner sensitive to the surrounding buildings. The architect
looked at several buildings in the Downtown area in order to incorporate
details similar to those buildings including cornice treatments, window and
building rhythms, etc. Those buildings included the former PC Computer
building at 101 W. Milwaukee Street, the Carriage House at 10 N. Parker
Drive, the Riverfront Center on West Milwaukee Street and the Old Town
Mall on South Main Street. (See attached photo’s of buildings).
The structure is designed with an internal ramp which will allow the top
three floors of the parking ramp to be level and provide a more horizontal
and uniformed appearance from the street (see attached building
elevations). This will allow the structure to appear more as a building than
a parking garage and help blend in with the surrounding buildings in the
area.
H. The proposed parking structure is planned to be constructed over the
existing surface parking lot located at the southwest corner of East Wall
Street and North Parker Drive. The existing surface parking lot contains
84 spaces. The parking structure has been designed to have 50 parking
stalls on the ground level and approximately 12 of the existing surface
spaces will remain outside of the structure (see attached site plan).
I. As typically occurs with larger facility construction projects, a parking
garage committee was created to assist in the design and review of the
facility. Committee representatives include several members of City staff,
various downtown stakeholders, and Councilmember Brunner. This
committee has worked with the consultant on the overall design and
functionality of the garage, as well as the architecture and aesthetics. The
committee has reviewed and approved the proposed design of the
structure.
J. This lot was previously developed as a multi-level parking structure,
originally constructed in 1958 which accommodated a total of 179 parking
spaces. The parking structure was demolished in 2001 and converted into
the existing 84 space surface lot. Currently, the surface lot contains 41
two-hour, 39 leased and four handicapped spaces. A portion of the stalls
in the new structure may be designated for leased parking to the
individuals in the area. SARA Investments, the owners of 101 East
Milwaukee Street, have requested that some leased parking be assigned
to its building. Determination of the number of leased spaces will be
considered by the City Council in the review of a TIF development
agreement. If leased spaces are created they would be leased from 6:00
a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday and available to the general
public following lease hours.
K. In 1998 the City hired Walker Parking Consultants to determine how much
parking was needed in the Downtown at that time and for the next 10
years. The study included an analysis of the removal of the former
parking garage at Wall and Parker Drive and the Parking Plaza. The
study considered the overall parking demand and supply for the
Downtown but also analyzed it on the basis of activity centers. One of the
activity centers includes the two blocks bounded by Wall Street/Parker
Drive/East Milwaukee Street and the Rock River. Staff updated the study
based on change of land uses within these blocks including the addition of
two bars; Wiggy’s and Quotes. Staff has determined that the total parking
demand in this area is 296 spaces at full building occupancy. The parking
supply in the two blocks not including the existing Wall Street/Parker Drive
lot but counting the on street parking adjoining the blocks and the public
and private lots is 76 spaces. This creates a net parking demand of 220
spaces (296-76 = 220). The new structure is designed for 225 new
spaces, not including the 12 surface stalls that will remain (total 237).
L. City staff held a public open house on April 22 to review the preliminary
design and architecture of the proposed parking garage. Staff sent out
notices to property owners within a two block area and members of the
Downtown Development Alliance (DDA). Approximately 25 individuals
attended this meeting in addition to City Staff members and the
engineering consultants. Members of the public asked general questions
on the scheduling of the proposed parking garage. Staff indicated that
following Plan Commission review and City Council endorsement, staff
would proceed on the detailed engineering design, award BIDs in August
and construction could commence in September of this year. The project
would likely then be completed in the late Spring of 2010. Individuals
asked what the City would be doing to accommodate parking in the interim
when this parking lot is taken out of service. Staff will work with business
and property owners to direct customers to other nearby public lots
including the Parking Plaza, South Main Street and East Wall Street lots.
A copy of the informational handout distributed at the public open house is
attached for your review.
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M. The Janesville Historic Commission reviewed the project at its April 27
meeting. The Commission voted unanimously to endorse the proposed
parking garage design concept as submitted but further expressed a
desire to review the final colors to be selected at a later date. The
Commission also suggested that a medallion symbol be used as an
ornamental feature on the wall panel between the columns at the top level
of the garage instead of the offset masonry square as shown in the
rendering.
N. The four level parking garage containing 225 and is estimated to cost $4.4
million including the cost of engineering and contingency. Staff desires to
bid the project in two phases. The first phase is the pre-cast structure and
according to engineers would account for approximately 50% of the cost
of the project. This portion would be bid in June. The remainder of the
project would be bid in late July. By biding the project in two phases the
city should have a good understanding of the estimated cost early in the
process. In order to reduce the cost of the project, the Design Committee
recommended that a 3 ½ story parking structure be also be bid as a
possible alternative. Although the Committee believed that a four level
structure was preferable to better address long term parking demands in
the area, they believed that it should be a potential option for
consideration. The project engineers estimated that this would reduce the
overall cost to $4.1 million, but will also reduce the number of parking
spaces to 185. In addition to project reductions, the Design Committee
also recommended that a number of items be bid separately and
considered for inclusion in the project if favorable bids were received.
Those items include: the use of thin brick on the exterior ($108,000); the
pedestrian bridge to 101 E. Milwaukee Street ($103,000); a canopy over
the forth level access ramp ($41,000); and concrete on the ground level
instead of asphalt ($26,000). The Design Committee believed that these
items would add value and durability to the project such as use of thin
brick instead of stained molded concrete; use of concrete on the ground
floor instead of asphalt; and inclusion of the canopy over the forth level
access ramp when snow and ice conditions occur. Although desirable
these items were not considered essential if costs needed to be reduced.
Additionally, the Committee believed that the pedestrian connection to 101
E. Milwaukee would provide convenience for the patrons of that building
however that amenity could also be added in the future.
O. In 2008, $1.25 million was placed in the note issue for construction of the
parking garage. The Administration proposes to place another $1.0
million in the note issue for this year with the balance of funding to be
borrowed in the following year 2010. The Administration has used this
multi-year funding approach on other large projects including police
station, the proposed central fire station, etc. in order to avoid a large
amount of general fund debt borrowing in any one year. Typically a
project of this scale takes approximately one year to engineer and bid and
another year for construction.
PLAN COMMISSION ACTION – MAY 4, 2009
Brad Cantrell, Community Development Director, provided the Plan Commission
with an overview of the proposed downtown parking garage structure. Cantrell
provided information regarding the architectural design, operational facilities,
parking stall capacity, proposed elevations and estimated cost alternatives.
Questions and discussion from Plan Commission Members:
Commissioner Werner asked what the Plan Commission’s architectural review of
this item includes. Cantrell indicated that Plan Commission can consider various
aspects of the structural design and appearance but should not evaluate the
estimated cost factors.
Commissioner Werner asked about the Historic Commission’s role in review of
the structure. Cantrell indicated the Historic Commission reviewed the design
and endorsed the architecture but does not have final authority. Cantrell
suggested the Plan Commission comment on those aspects of the facility they
feel should be included in the design.
Commissioner Voskuil asked how many parking stalls were included in the 3 ½
versus 4-story design alternatives. Cantrell indicated 185 stalls are included in
the 3 ½-level design while 225 stalls would be in the four-level plan.
Commissioner Voskuil asked Cantrell to describe the add-on items which were
not included in the estimated 4.4 million-dollar facility. Cantrell indicated the
proposed add-on costs would be approximately $250,000 in total for the canopy
over the ramp, application of thin brick exterior treatments and construction of a
pedestrian walkway connected to the SARA Investment building.
Commissioner Werner asked about the life expectancy for the structure and if
estimated maintenance costs were available for the different façade treatments.
Cantrell indicated the parking garage has a 40-50 year life span and
maintenance costs for the exterior were unavailable at this time however the
painted molded brick would need to be repainted.
Commissioner Zolidis asked if any other ground-level events were planned for
this portion of the structure during inclement weather. Cantrell indicated that in
addition to the Farmer’s Market, the building design allows for various types of
temporary use options that may not be known at this time.
Commissioner Zolidis asked if any energy efficiency lighting was proposed within
the structure and asked Cantrell for background information on parking demand
figures in the area. Cantrell indicated that LED and induction lighting is being
considered for the facility. He stated that the update to the Walker Parking Study
indicated a need for approximately 220 parking stalls within this immediate
development cluster area of the downtown in addition to the existing 75 parking
stalls in the area.
Commission Hanewold asked if a certain number of stalls would be designated
for use by Sara Investments. Cantrell indicated that Sara Investments would like
to lease a certain amount of parking stalls within the structure but the number is
not yet determined.
Chairman Helgerson asked about the existing parking lots located east of the
proposed structure and questioned if pedestrian accessibility was considered at
the corner of North Parker and Wall Street. Cantrell indicated that the parking
lots to the east were public parking lots containing approximately 115 stalls in
total; however, the location of these spaces was outside the activity area that
defines the need for additional parking along Main Street. Cantrell indicated that
there was considerable discussion by the steering committee regarding the
location of stairwells at the corner of N. Parker and Wall Streets, but the largest
demand for pedestrian accessibility is directed toward Main and Milwaukee
Streets.
Commissioner Perrotto asked if the recommendation to move forward with the
parking garage is based on the need for additional parking regardless of Sara
Investments proposal. Cantrell stated an economic opportunity will come with
the construction of the parking garage. The structure is needed to ignite and
accelerate growth and redevelopment in the downtown area.
There was no further discussion regarding this item. There was a motion by
Commissioner Werner to endorse the architectural design of the downtown
parking garage and forward the plan to the City Council with a favorable
recommendation noting that the Plan Commission has not reviewed the financial
aspects of the proposal. The Commission’s endorsement included the use of
thin brick because of potential long-term maintenance savings, the substitution of
the metal vertical columns in place of the precast elements due to cost savings,
that a four-level structure be constructed and that the brick color be cream city
brick. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Voskuil and was
unanimously approved.
cc: Jacob J. Winzenz, Dir. of Administrative Services/Assistant City Manager