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January 8, 2006

Estimate is in for parking deck

Developer says project will cost $10.8 million

By
Record-Eagle staff writer

      TRAVERSE CITY - A developer estimated the city's share for public parking in one West Front Street project will cost $10.8 million.
      City officials handed over the estimate from Michael Uzelac of Federated Properties to a Colorado construction consultant to examine it.
      The estimate is based on a price of $22,412 per parking spot for 482 spaces in a 100-foot-tall building on the south side of West Front Street. The $10.8 million estimate does not include the cost of property, though the city would contribute to the land purchase.
      City officials had used a spread of $10 to $12 million when estimating its share in that building and public parking in a smaller three-story Uzelac project across the street.
      "It is in the ballpark," said Rob Bacigalupi, Downtown Development Authority deputy director.
      The city doesn't have an estimate yet for its 80 public spaces in the smaller building on the north side of West Front. Bacigalupi said Uzelac wants to build the bigger structure first.
      The $10.8 million price tag includes line items such as $485,640 for demolition, $193,000 for structural steel, $298,159 for carpentry and finishes and $5 million for the precast structure.
      DDA director Bryan Crough questioned some of the costs in a preliminary review of the estimate, including asphalt paving, structural steel and $339,860 for two elevators, which he wrote "seems excessive."
      Those items and all parts of the estimate will be reviewed by Holloway Consulting Group, a firm hired by the city to examine the deal. City manager Richard Lewis said the consultant is needed to determine if the estimate is a "fair price."
      Bacigalupi said the estimate is based on the cost of a "stand-alone deck." He said that gives a better assessment since the city shouldn't pay for additional concrete and structural costs associated with building an eight story, multi-use project.
      The city paid about $8.9 million several years ago for the 540-space State Street parking deck. Bacigalupi said inflation and more expensive materials likely are to blame for the higher cost of the West Front deck. But, he said, the city is trying to fix a number on exactly how much more those factors cost.
      City commissioners this week unanimously agreed to chip in $4,900 to pay Uzelac-hired architects AAI, Inc. for further design revisions. Commissioners in July voted to spend up to $8,000 in city parking funds to split the cost of preliminary planning and building-design work with Uzelac.
     

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