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Garage bids sought

Contracts to be awarded in June

Butler City Council hopes to award the contracts for the city’s new parking garage next month.

The bids for the 238-space garage are due June 10, but will need to be reviewed before council can make its decision.

“They have to qualify them on everything to make sure they bid what we are looking for,” said Mayor Tom Donaldson, referencing the specifications for the structure. “I anticipate we’ll award the bid at the June council meeting.”

Council will have its regular monthly meeting June 25.

Donaldson talked about the parking garage at council’s meeting Thursday night.

The city plans to build the garage as part of the Centre City project, which includes a proposed Marriott Springhill Suites hotel and the already-completed Rite Aid pharmacy.

The garage will be paid for with a bond issue through PNC Bank. Council expects sale of the bonds to begin in early July.

The city authorized itself to spend up to $7 million on the structure, although it is expected to cost about $4 million.

The garage will have four tiers and two stairwell towers. It also could have one additional tower for an elevator, although it is not yet determined whether the structure will have the lift.

“We bid the project with and without an elevator,” Donaldson said, adding if the city chooses not to include an elevator at first, it can be added to the additional tower.

Donaldson said the initial price of an elevator, expected to be hundreds of thousands of dollars, is not a major concern with the project.

“It’s the long-term maintenance that is expensive,” he said.

Joe Gray of Gateway Engineers, which is handling the design work for the garage, said there are six interested general contractors, as well as numerous others that would handle the mechanical, electrical and plumbing duties.

Donaldson said J.S. Capitol, the developer of the hotel, is ready to begin construction. He expects the work to begin in July.

The about 70-room hotel will be owned by J.S. Capitol and the city’s redevelopment authority. The parking garage will be owned by the city and managed by the city parking authority.

Both projects would be completed in the second half of 2016 if construction starts in July.

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