The commission has heard the first reading on the proposal.
The joint use agreement would release $2.55 million in state funds for the project courtesy of the Ohio Board of Regents, said Heck.
“Our partners at Clark State Community College, Clark County and SpringForward are second to none in their professionalism and pride in this community,” Springfield City Manager Bryan Heck said. “We appreciate the role each of them played in this project.
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Additional funding will include $1 million Clark County will provide and $3.3 million from the city.
Heck said the commission has reached an agreement with Dugan and Meyers, a construction company located in Blue Ash to cap total costs on the garage at roughly $6.8 million.
“The collaboration on this project is just the brand of cooperation that makes this such a forward-thinking community,” Heck said. “We accomplish amazing things when we work together, and I couldn’t be more proud of the efforts of everyone involved.”
The downtown Springfield parking garage has been discussed by the commission for several years as a way to provide additional parking downtown as the city works to attract more retail and business to the city center.
The garage will sit at the corner of Fountain Avenue and Columbia Street. Construction plans call for a three story structure with 305 parking spaces, Heck said.
Over 3,000 square feet of retail space will also be available on the ground level along Fountain Avenue.
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Heck said after construction is completed the retail space will mostly be considered, “a cold dark box.”
“This will give tenants the freedom to decide if they want to use the whole 3,000 square feet or divide it up and only use some it,” Heck said.
“They have built in about an eight to eight and a half month time frame for construction,” Heck said. “So we should be looking at a substantial completion date of the end of the first quarter of 2020.”
Springfield also recently 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 will cost about $200,000.
The two projects are just some of the development projects in downtown Springfield over the last decade, including the National Trail Parks and Recreation District Chiller Ice Arena, Springfield Regional Medical Center, Mother Stewart’s Brewing Co. and improvement to Fountain Avenue.
$7M: Approximate cost of the downtown parking garage project
305: Parking spaces
3,000: Square feet of retail space along Fountain Avenue
Source: Springfield City Commission
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