November 2022

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LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) Repairs to the Buchanan Street parking garage in downtown Lafayette are nearing completion, but more money is needed.

On Tuesday, the Lafayette City Council voted to donate the $3.4 million needed to complete the job.

Parking near the parish courthouse had become a challenge when the Buchanan Street parking garage closed four years ago.

Supervising engineer with the Lafayette Consolidated Government Department of Public Works, Frederick Trahan says the garage is ready to open and is structurally sound.

Trahan, however, says the elevators are not functional.

He says a new elevator will be installed and the stairwells will be redesigned.

“They will be open on the main road in Buchanan. Both safety and aesthetically better visually,” explained Trahan,

Two years ago, Mayor-President Josh Guillory filed an emergency declaration to make sure the job got done.

An assessment of the garage revealed that the metal fasteners securing the garage’s concrete panels had deteriorated.

“The entire building will be rewired with LED wiring. More lighting for safety reasons and to paint the entire interior structure,” Trahan said.

Trahan says old planters and the streetscape will be upgraded for better access, sidewalks will be wider, and driveway improvements will be made to increase compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“It’s going to be hard to remember what it looked like. We have real ideas. The lighting is really going to be an advantage,” he said.

A woman was treated for smoke inhalation after a fire Tuesday morning in a downtown Ottawa parking lot.

Firefighters responded to a call for a fire at a garage on Queen Street between Kent and Lyon streets just before 8:30 a.m. Fire crews were seen battling the ceiling fire near the garage entrance.

Ottawa firefighters received multiple 911 calls reporting smoke and flames coming from the exterior roof of an underground parking garage exit.

“Firefighters launched a rapid attack to extinguish the blaze and put water on the fire within minutes of arriving on the scene,” the Ottawa Fire Department said in a statement.

“At 8:19 a.m. a ‘second alarm’ was raised to send additional fire crews to the scene to help ventilate the large amount of smoke that migrated through the building.”

OC Transpo closed the Lyon LRT station for just over two hours due to the fire, with the station reopening at 11 a.m.

Due to high levels of carbon monoxide from the fire, firefighters spent three hours ventilating the structure.

“Thanks to the rapid response, combined with the rapid attack, the fire was extinguished in the area of ​​origin before it could spread through the structure,” the Ottawa fire said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Paramedics said the woman was treated for smoke inhalation and taken to hospital in stable condition.

Ottawa Fire at the scene of a working fire on Queen ST between Kent ST. & Lyon ST N. Fire in the ceiling area above the car park entrance. #ottnews #Ottawa pic.twitter.com/Bd9GLosHYD

— Scott Stilborn (@OFSFirePhoto)
November 15, 2022

A woman was treated for smoke inhalation after a fire Tuesday morning in a downtown Ottawa parking lot.

Firefighters responded to a call for a fire at a garage on Queen Street between Kent and Lyon streets just before 8:30 a.m. Fire crews were seen battling the ceiling fire near the garage entrance.

Ottawa firefighters received multiple 911 calls reporting smoke and flames coming from the exterior roof of an underground parking garage exit.

“Firefighters launched a rapid attack to extinguish the fire and put water on the fire within minutes of arriving on the scene,” the Ottawa Fire Department said in a statement.

“At 8:19 a.m. a ‘second alarm’ was raised to send additional fire crews to the scene to help ventilate the large amount of smoke that migrated through the building.”

OC Transpo closed the Lyon LRT station for just over two hours due to the fire, and the station reopened at 11 a.m. OC Transpo says there was no damage to Lyon station as a result of the fire.

Due to high levels of carbon monoxide from the fire, firefighters spent three hours ventilating the structure.

“Thanks to the rapid response, combined with the rapid attack, the fire was extinguished in the area of ​​origin before it could spread through the structure,” the Ottawa fire said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Paramedics said the woman was treated for smoke inhalation and taken to hospital in stable condition.

FARGO — A new construction project in downtown Fargo, which includes the new Fargo-Moorhead Community Theater Home, 145 apartments, the redevelopment of the Herbst Building and the City of Fargo parking lot, is one step closer to its objective.

The Fargo City Commission on Monday, November 14, unanimously approved a development agreement for the construction of a parking garage, which is part of the city’s project.

The garage will have 450 to 490 parking spaces and will meet downtown parking needs for the next 15 to 20 years, said Jim Gilmour, director of strategic planning and research.

The commission’s vote pushes the entire project, all located at 602-636 NP Ave., Fargo, closer to its projected 2025 completion.

Mayor Tim Mahoney said the garage is a benefit to the public having parking options when downtown.

The development agreement to build and operate the parking lot is between the City of Fargo and Great Plains NP Holdings, LLC, which was formed by the Kilbourne Group.

Erik Johnson, assistant city attorney, said the project will provide the community with more downtown parking, generate revenue and help bring community theater downtown.

Some commissioners on Monday, however, balked at approving the deal, citing Fargo’s ownership of the parking lot, putting the city at financial risk.

“The shortfall comes to us (the city),” Johnson added.

Funding will begin with a $4 million cash investment from the city, taken from the city’s parking fund. The remaining $16 million will be funded through annual credit obligations, according to Baker Tilly Municipal Advisors. The group was hired by Fargo to evaluate financing options.

Fargo will provide $450,000 for the design of the project and up to an additional $20 million for the parking structure itself.

The bonds will be issued and payment will begin in 2023. The final maturity of the bonds will be in 2045.

Photo submitted

Money from the project ultimately won’t cover debt on bonds between 2023 and 2030, councilors said, adding the city would need to find $3.5 million to cover the funding shortfall in those years. .

Terri Gayhart, chief financial officer, said the project’s initial shortfall can be covered by the city with funds made available after the 2020 refinancing of four big city bonds.

Regular bond payments are now much lower than they were, Gayhart said, and the city can use that difference to fund the parking lot’s financial shortfall.

Commissioner John Strand pointed out that the funds, if not used to cover the shortfall, could instead be put into savings.

Various parking fees and fines could also meet the $16 million bond. Revenue from parking tickets generally goes into the general fund, councilors said.

Additionally, the city plans to create a new TIF zone and transfer costs associated with city planning department staff from the parking fund to the general fund, according to the funding plan.

Photo submitted

Work will now begin on the renewal plan and financing plan after Monday’s approval.

Commissioner Denise Kolpack called the project a great addition to the downtown community. “It’s an incredibly… innovative approach and solution for community theater,” she said.

Global Development will soon apply for the Renaissance area and Kilbourne Group will apply for funding for the Renaissance area and the TIF.

Commissioner Arlette Preston asked how the outcome of the project might be affected if Cass County did not participate in TIF funds. Cass County recently elected not to participate in Fargo’s TIF funding.

“If the county or the school district were to pull out, it could jeopardize the tax exemption that Kilbourne relies on,” Gilmour said, adding that it will be a hurdle to clear when Kilbourne secures TIF funding from the town.

Strand, meanwhile, raised concerns about how the project took shape, and why other developers weren’t able to compete for the deal or land in question. He called the land a “public good” and expressed hope that the city would provide more opportunities for competition in the future on partnership projects.

Gilmour said it was not the city’s official decision to choose developer Kilbourne for the project. Partner Global Development chose Kilbourne and the town accepted that decision, Gilmour said.

Nov. 14—Butler County’s parking garage automation project stalled again as county officials say the vendor grapples with nationwide labor shortages and Other problems.

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During the 2015 budget hearings, Commissioner Cindy Carpenter dubbed the five-story structure on the corner of Court Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard their “Stone Age” garage, but it still took several years so that the wheels turn on the automation. .

The 600-space garage currently operates as a cash-only, pay-at-the-door operation. Proposals over the years to automate the garage, make it more user-friendly, and generate income from community events several years ago ranged from $100,000 to $400,000.

Cost was a factor at first, but now remnants of the pandemic have slowed progress on the project, according to County Administrator Judi Boyko. She told commissioners at a recent garage budget hearing “what we’re going through in terms of a shrinking workforce and the challenge of finding people who can do our operations that all of our suppliers know from the same way”.

“We have a lot of back-end programming to make sure all the systems talk to each other and we experienced a very slow process,” she said. “We are all very eager to implement automation.”

Originally, the automation project was supposed to be finished at the end of March, then it was pushed back to the summer and now the estimate is at the end of the year.

“The county is going to make sure that when this is launched and reformatted as an automation, it will be transparent to the end user and the operational side of things will be fully functional,” Boyko said. “The second thing is that the supplier had significant demands on their workforce and communication was sometimes delayed.”

Commissioners approved $200,000 in January to fully automate the garage which will be open 24/7 and allow drivers to use cash or credit to pay. The project means that more income can be generated by users who use the garage in the evenings and at weekends.

The story continues

Commissioners Don Dixon and TC Rogers told the Journal-News that while the delay is frustrating, they understand business is not business as usual these days.

“As a builder, I know there are issues with the supply chain, which we haven’t had before,” Rogers said. “So it’s part of the way of life as it is right now.”

When complete, the entrance and exits will look the same, except there will no longer be a garage attendant manning the stall on Court Street.

There will be a pay station that accepts cash or credit in the first floor garage lobby and another inside the GSC near the breezeway that connects the two buildings on the second floor.

There are a number of different parking arrangements at the garage. People can pay $40 a month for a reserved spot, jurors, law enforcement and county jurisdiction firefighters and others park for free, then daily parkers who pay a maximum of $6.50 . There will be an online payment option for monthly parking.

In recent months, drivers have probably noticed that the barriers have been lifted, allowing people to park for free, as garage attendants have ceased to know the automation was coming. Boyko told the Journal-News they estimate they’ve lost around $100 a day in lost parking fees when the pay booth is unstaffed.

The last employee, chief garage attendant Kevin Johnston, quit Oct. 21, so Mark Gadd, the former facilities manager who is now the special projects coordinator, filled in when he could. He told the commissioners that this situation was not ideal and that they had to find a new attendant.

“Staffing right now is a bit difficult,” Gadd said. “We’ve lost three people, pretty much all of the garage staff and I’m the only one trained to operate the equipment so I’m filling in until we can automate or hire someone.”

Even when the garage is fully automated, the county still needs someone to troubleshoot. So they posted the Garage Attendant position with a salary range of $15.94 to $19.08.

“This position will continue to monitor the garage, monitor operations when automation is in place, and try to work more on the customer side,” Boyko said. “There is still troubleshooting with kiosks and payment terminals and helping people find their way around.”

Carpenter is not happy.

“I’m very frustrated,” she said, adding that they had to fill the attendant position because putting Gadd in the payment booth “isn’t a good use of his expertise.”

Repair work on a pair of auto garages in downtown Jefferson City will be discussed at length Monday.

City Council holds a business meeting at 6:00 p.m. to discuss the future of the Madison and Jefferson Street garages. The council received a 200+ page study prepared by Structural Engineering Assessments examining the structural conditions of the garages, rehabilitation needs and costs.

City officials recommend the council use Monday to determine something important about the Madison Street garage: whether to repair it or replace it completely. A complete overhaul could cost up to $42 million.

In an email to council members, Director of Public Works Matt Morasch said he believed Monday’s main discussion should provide information to staff on pursuing a full repair or replacement. . Morasch said staff members recommended the city open a 30-day public comment period after the meeting to allow for public input.

The garage, located at 200 Madison St., was built in 1961 and costs 50 cents an hour for 2 hours, and $1 thereafter, or $6 a day. It holds 615 parking spaces and is a mixed-use garage with daily and monthly rates available to the public, as well as state employees and other businesses who rent space on a monthly basis.

It stands on five levels, the last level having been built in 1990. The garage has been in need of repairs for some time. City staff informed the public works committee in 2021 that they needed nearly $1 million in repairs.

Last December, the city council paid more than $291,000 to hire structural engineering associates to assess the conditions of the Madison Street garage.

The report revealed several issues in the garage, including structural issues, life safety code issues, equipment and power issues, and issues with parking and revenue control systems.

The current price for repairs according to the study is much higher than the million dollars disclosed in 2021. It could be in the range of $12 million to totally repair the garage, $8 million would go to construction costs and $4 million would go to contingencies. , engineering and other costs.

It is estimated that approximately $12 million will cover a full structural repair and replacement of mechanical, plumbing and parking control systems.

In an email, city staff presented a summary of the study’s findings, which also offered the option of a total replacement.

The garage replacement was estimated at $39–42 million, depending on the design of a new model. The costs are relative and depend on the number of parking spaces, floors and different ramp configurations.

Morasch said in the email that staff recommends the city repair the Madison Street garage rather than replace it. The report says the repairs will slow deterioration, but the city should expect deterioration to continue and repairs or maintenance to be required on the concrete slabs every five to 10 years.

According to the study, repairs to the Jefferson Street garage would cost approximately $415,000. The work, if approved by council, would include sealing joints/cracks, membrane covering upper deck, brickwork repair, steel painting and handrail replacement, rail replacement of cable and the replacement of lighting and plumbing.

The city’s parking department is self-contained, Morasch noted, and is currently saving about $5 million. The ministry is in the process of proposing new parking rates to help offset ongoing expenses.

Morasch suggested that after the council determines how to proceed, city staff work with Structural Engineering Associates to come up with a project plan for Madison Street and how to pay for it.

The town hall meeting can be watched in person in the council chambers or viewed online via a link on the town’s website.

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The photo taken earlier this year shows the cleared area where the old Mississauga Hospital garage/parking lot once stood.

Construction on Mississauga’s new state-of-the-art hospital isn’t expected to begin until 2025, but construction of an associated eight-story parking garage is already underway.

And hospital officials who gave two local MPs a tour of the Hurontario St./The Queensway site yesterday (November 10) said the construction of the car park is an important first step in transforming the parcel of land that houses the hospital since 1958.

Work on the parking structure is “an important step in preparing for the construction of Peter Gilgan Mississauga Hospital,” Trillium Health Partners (THP) officials wrote in a post on THP’s Twitter page.

THP, the healthcare network that operates hospitals in Mississauga and Credit Valley in addition to Queensway Health Center on the Mississauga-Etobicoke border, hosted Mississauga-Lakeshore MLA Rudy Cuzzetto and Brampton South MLA Prab Sarkaria on Thursday to a site visit.

THP officials thanked MPs for their support of the massive project, which will later see a new Mississauga hospital on the site that will be nearly three times the size of the current healthcare facility.

This will make it the largest hospital in Ontario and one of the largest in all of Canada.

Today we had the pleasure of welcoming the Minister @PrabSarkaria at THP for the very first time, & MPP @RudyCuzzetto to see the progress of the construction of the Mississauga Hospital parking garage – an important step in the preparation for the construction of the Peter Gilgan Hospital in Mississauga. pic.twitter.com/UUWFW0o5eH

— Trillium Health Partners (@THP_hospital) November 10, 2022

While construction of the state-of-the-art 24-story hospital is not expected to begin until 2025, work to demolish the existing parking lot and build the new eight-story structure began in April.

The new car park, which will be built at the south end of the site on land currently used for surface parking, will accommodate 1,462 vehicles, depending on the development demand of the project.

The Ontario government unveiled preliminary plans for the huge new hospital last December

The new facility will be called the Peter Gilgan Mississauga Hospital after the local developer/philanthropist donated $105 million to the effort earlier this year. It will have approximately 2.8 million square feet of space and 23 state-of-the-art operating rooms, up from the 14 older operating rooms currently in use.

In addition, the emergency department will be one of the largest in Ontario and some 350 new beds will be added to bring the total to over 950. Over 80% of the beds will be in private rooms.

Once the new hospital is completed, the existing structure will be demolished.

Rendering of the new Mississauga hospital as it will appear for years to come when completed.

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Just south of the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a nearly 100-year-old parking lot is set to become the base for a new multi-family residential development.

Yesterday, Steve Hakim of Hakim Holdings submitted an application to the Los Angeles City Planning Department seeking approvals for a project that would involve the adaptive reuse of the three-story parking garage at 1670 N. Sycamore Avenue, as well as the new five-storey construction of the new apartments above. The resulting development would feature a total of 55 apartments while retaining 60 parking spaces within the existing structure.

Fees sought for the proposed development include incentives for transit-oriented communities to allow for greater density than permitted by zoning rules, as well as reductions in required setbacks and open space on the site. In exchange, six of the new apartments are to be reserved for rental as affordable housing for people on very low incomes for a period of 55 years.

Mika Design Group and Robert James Taylor Architects highlight the architecture team for the project, which would gray out the stucco on its upper floors in an attempt to match the look of the stone garage below. The eight-story complex would also include furnished rooftop and fourth-floor terraces, as well as indoor spaces on the ground floor.

The proposed development, in addition to nearby Walk of Fame attractions, is also one block west of a parking lot on Hawthorn Avenue where Los Angeles planning officials recently approved a project that would create 137 apartments and businesses behind the El Capitan Theatre.

COLOMBIA – The Virginia Avenue Parking Structure (VAPS) on the MU campus will temporarily close starting Dec. 24 for repairs.

The Columbia Missourian reported in September that MU was working with three different engineering companies to determine what repairs would be needed.

Repairs to the 20-year-old garage are expected to cost up to $16 million. The project includes the reinforcement of 93 column foundations at the garage, which is expected to require demolition and excavation of structures on the ground floor, according to previous reports from the Missourian.

MU said closing the garage before the spring semester would result in the least disruption to work and study.

“VAPS is safe but will need to be closed to accommodate future work,” MU said in an email Friday.

While the structure is closed, staff and faculty will be temporarily relocated to other on-campus parking structures, depending on where they work relative to Hitt Street. Those working west of Hitt Street will park in the Conley Avenue garage, and those working east of Hitt Street will park in the University Avenue garage.

Students who obtain a permit will move to Parking Structure No. 7 (PS7); approximately 400 faculty and staff with PS7 tags have been reassigned to the Tiger Avenue parking structure.

Vehicles that are not moved by January 4 will be towed to another location on campus.

Work on the VAPS is expected to be completed by fall 2023.

The planned Kent County Family Court building could solve problems for people who use the court on weekdays, but also for people who shop and attend events in downtown Dover on evenings and weekends. ends.

That’s because a 378-space parking garage is included in the plan — a garage open to the public after court hours that could help fill parking gaps downtown.

Here is the basic information about the new structures:

• Location: South Governor’s Avenue and Water Street, two blocks west of the Kent County Courthouse. The existing courthouse at 400 Court Street and River Road is approximately five blocks east of the county courthouse.
• Cut: 106,711 square feet, compared to the current 35,000 square feet
• Cost: $117.7 million
• Construction schedule: The inauguration ceremony took place on September 22. The buildings on the property have been demolished. Construction is expected to begin this winter and be completed by the end of 2025.

The reasons for a new building

The current family court was built in 1989. Since then, the court’s workload has doubled while security concerns have increased. Current issues include elevators shared by staff and inmates, small courtrooms, and limited space for security checkpoints and waiting rooms.

“Family court cases are emotional and there are security issues in many cases, particularly in domestic violence cases, although tensions are high in other cases as well,” the court said. Delaware Family Court Chief Judge Michael Newell. “They may feel unsafe because of their closeness to the other party.”

The new installation will have:

• More courtrooms, eight from the current six.
• Larger courtrooms, 1,400 to 1,800 square feet compared to an average of 600 square feet in the existing courthouse.
• Lobby before security check.
• Larger security check area.
• Larger waiting area allowing more space between participants and more privacy for discussions.

No plans have yet been announced for the existing Family Court building after the new facility opens.

After:Delaware has recorded 6 child abuse deaths, 63 near-deaths this year. Solving problems is a challenge

How it can help Dover City Center

The Mayor of Dover, Robin Christiansen, has campaigned for years for parking in Dover city centre.

“To some people it’s a four-letter word,” he said, “but it doesn’t look like a parking lot. It blends in with the downtown architecture.”

Neighboring businesses could benefit from additional customers traveling to and from the courthouse. Then, after court hours, patrons and people attending downtown events will have an additional 378 parking spaces.

“It’s a win-win situation,” Christiansen said. “I’m really excited they’re building this. It should generate a lot of activity downtown.”

After:Dover town center is plagued with vacancies. Why city leaders are optimistic about a comeback.

Planned for an area comprised mostly of vacant buildings and dilapidated homes, the new courthouse and parking lot could be downtown’s “southern anchor,” Christiansen said, listing the other anchors as follows. :

• North Dover, the former campus of Wesley College, now Delaware State University, referred to as “DSU Downtown”.
• East Dover, the state office complex including the legislative hall.
• West Dover, the new post office.

Diane Laird, executive director of the Downtown Dover Partnership, said the new courthouse and parking lot “will fit perfectly” with the parking plan the partnership completed last year with input from residents, property owners businesses and city leaders.

“This will be increasingly important as we anticipate growth in the downtown district, including more residential units, and restaurants and retail stores opening later in the evening and on weekends,” Laird said.

Journalist Ben Mace covers real estate, housing and development news. Contact him at [email protected].

The developers’ request to alter the already existing planned development district for the property, listed as 62-66 Center St. and 325 Coram Ave., is on the committee’s agenda on Wednesday, when the panel is expected to hold a public hearing.

Many residents, business owners and commission members have expressed concern about the lack of downtown parking. Some have even suggested that a parking garage could be the solution.

The property is a 0.48 acre site that includes the building that once housed Jeff’s Appliance and a home.

The plan calls for 2,800 square feet of retail space with 18 parking spaces, then five levels of parking, which, depending on demand, will be for public use with restricted spaces for downtown tenants and businesses. , which would rent spaces.

In total, there would be 162 parking spaces in the structure, which would include a rooftop restaurant/cafeteria with a 6,237 square foot indoor restaurant and 4,338 square feet of rooftop dining space.

The original PDD received approval from the Planning and Zoning Commission in 2019 and called for the replacement of the existing structures with a five-storey building with 42 apartments, a ground floor restaurant with covered terrace and parking two-storey interior for 44 vehicles. .

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