“Everything is on track,” Hicks said. “We meet every other week to discuss it and we are on schedule and have not run into any unnecessary issues.”
The city held a ground breaking ceremony for the parking garage in late June. Hicks said when crews began digging at the site they, “didn’t find anything underground that would have caused anything to slow down.”
Ground breaking: Springfield breaks ground on new downtown parking garage
“So it’s really good news,” Hicks said.
Even the uncharacteristically rainy weather the city experienced in early summer didn’t slow the project down, Hicks said.
“They build in a buffer for things like weather,” Hicks said. “So I think they only lost a couple of days, but because of the buffer they are still right on track.”
The downtown Springfield parking garage was discussed by the Springfield City Commission for almost 10 years as a way to provide additional parking downtown as the city works to attract more retail and business to the city center, Springfield City Manager Bryan Heck said previously.
The commission approved the roughly $7 million downtown garage project in early June. Around the same time, the commission also voted in favor of entering a joint agreement with Clark State Community College, securing the funding to construct the garage.
The joint agreement released $2.55 million in state funds for the property, courtesy of the Ohio Department of Higher Education, Heck said.
Additional funding also includes $1 million from Clark County, and $3.3 million from the city.
The commission reached an agreement with Dugan and Meyers to cap total costs on the garage at almost $6.8 million, Heck said.
More about funding for the garage: Springfield City Commission to talk about next phase of parking garage
Over 3,000 square feet of retail space will also be available on the ground level of the garage along Fountain Avenue.
Fountain Avenue is home to Le Torte Dolci, Salato Deli, Champion City Guide + Supply, Winans Chocolates & Coffees, Stella Bleu Bistro and Sip & Dipity Paint Bar.
Earlier this year, Springfield also broke ground on an $8 million, 34-unit townhome housing development near the garage site. The townhomes will be about 1,300 square feet and cost around $200,000, according to the developer.
The two projects are just some of the development projects in downtown Springfield over the last decade, including the National Trail Park and Recreation District Chiller Ice Arena, Springfield Regional Medical Center, Mother Stewart’s Brewing Co. and COhatch’s redevelopment of the Myers Market building.
$7M: Approximate cost of the downtown parking garage project
305: Parking spaces
3,300: Approximate square feet of retail space along Fountain Avenue
Source: Springfield City Commission
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