Bid approved for new downtown surface parking lots

A two-surface lot project, designed alleviate parking issues in downtown Greencastle, has been awarded to an Indianapolis contractor.

Gibraltar Construction offered the lowest of three bids submitted to the City of Greencastle for construction of parking lots a block south and west of the square.

The low bid of $1,135,000 by Gibraltar was selected for the job by the Greencastle Redevelopment Commission at its meeting this week at City Hall.

Also submitting proposals on construction of parking lots just east of the Moose Lodge and at Walnut and Jackson streets were R. L. Construction, Indianapolis, $1,399,000, and J. S. McCullough Excavating, Bainbridge, $1,181,197.

The two-lot project carries a 150-calendar-day timetable with a projected completion date of Nov. 1.

This spring the City of Greencastle received approval of the Indiana Housing Community Development Authority (IHCDA) for $1.86 million in grant money for construction of the new parking lots in a pair of downtown locations.

The two surface lots are to be developed in lieu of a previously proposed $3.4 million downtown parking garage that twice produced construction bids way above estimates -- nearly $1 million over estimate initially and then $750,000 too high in a second bidding attempt.

The funds approved by the IHCDA now will go toward construction of surface lots on property along Market Street purchased from the Moose Lodge earlier this spring, as well as the site once designated for the parking garage on property bounded by Jackson, Walnut and Indiana streets.

That property was previously acquired by the city purchasing the First Christian Church parking lot and the old Darrell Felling law office site.

The Moose property -- comprised of everything east of the lodge and bounded by Washington, Market and Franklin streets a block west of the courthouse square -- will provide a second new downtown surface lot in lieu of building the 146-space parking garage that had been part of the city's original $19.2 million Stellar Grant effort.

The IHCDA-approved total of $1,860,429.78 includes reimbursement for land acquisition, engineering fees and incidentals incurred along the way, it was pointed out before the Redevelopment Commission voted unanimously to accept the Gibraltar bid.

Meanwhile, in a separate project, Redevelopment Commision members also approved funding of drainage work on a section of Indianapolis Road.

That work has been deemed necessary prior to repaving sections of the heavily-traveled street between Wendy's/Super Wash and the Sky Nails driveway on the south side of the street and in front of the Old National Bank branch on the north side of the road.

Drainage problems have caused the pavement in those areas to crumble under the presence of constant traffic. The only way to properly remedy that, it was noted, would be to rectify the drainage before doing any resurfacing work.

Mayor Sue Murray requested Redevelopment Commission funds -- produced by the local TIF (Tax Increment Financing) District that includes Indianapolis Road -- to cover the cost of the drainage portion of the city project.

Milling work and resurfacing overlay efforts will be covered by funds currently available within the City Street Department budget, as announced at the June 10 City Council meeting.

The mayor said she was bringing the matter before the group as the "only way to do a viable fix."

"If drainage is going to fix the problem long term," commission member Tanis Monday said before making the motion to approve the funding, "then it's silly not to do it."

The rest of the Redevelopment Commission unanimously agreed.

J. S. McCullough, Bainbridge, submitted the low bid on the drainage portion of the Indianapolis Road project at $19,000.

The motion approved was for funds not to exceed $25,000 for drainage efforts on the project. The higher amount was budgeted in case unforeseen underground issues develop -- as they often do in such projects -- once the work begins.

Meanwhile, Mayor Murray also updated the group -- which besides Monday includes Chairman Erika Gilmore, Gwen Morris, Gary Lemon and Drew Brattain -- on other Stellar-related projects.

South Indiana Street reconstruction is "still on course to finish by mid-August," she said, noting that the pavement portion of the project is expected to commence July 18.

And contrary to rumors, South Indiana Street will become neither a pedestrian mall nor a one-way street, the mayor stressed for the umpteenth time.

And neither will the new bump-out area (like the ones in place along Washington Street) be extended south in front of Moore's Bar.

"The bump-outs will end at the alley, just as it's always been planned," Mayor Murray said, "and Indiana Street will continue to be two-way, just as it has always been."

The mayor also pointed out that the Vine Street streetscape project is due to go out for bids in January and follow a similar timetable to the work under way on South Indiana Street.

The next meeting of the Greencastle Redevelopment Commission is set for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 23 at City Hall.