BLOOMINGTON – Plans to replace the downtown Market Street parking garage with a Connect Transit transfer station and new parking decks could take a significant step forward Monday.
The Bloomington City Council will consider contributing about $450,000 for architectural and engineering services for the long-planned new facility at 202 W. Market St. The money will be used specifically for the portion of the work related to parking, according to a memo from Deputy City Manager Billy Tyus to City Council members.
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City officials say the 50-year-old Market Street garage has reached the end of its useful life, but the parking available there remains critical to merchants, workers and shoppers who support downtown businesses. That’s why the city has worked with Connect Transit to include replacement parking in preliminary plans for the new transfer center.
Tyus
“We have the opportunity to partner with Connect Transit to repair the garage. We expect the cost to be less than if we were to build the garage alone,” Tyus wrote in the memo to the council.
Connect Transit has received about $18 million in state and federal grants to build the transfer station, which has been planned for several possible downtown locations in recent years. Previous contenders included the former Pantagraph building at 301 W. Washington St., an option that was ultimately deemed too costly due to the building’s age.
The transit agency first confirmed it was considering the site of the three-story Market Street building in April 2022. The following April, council passed a resolution approving the decision, but further approvals are still needed before it is implemented.
In February of this year, the city and Connect Transit asked companies interested in designing the transfer station to submit their applications. After representatives from both the city and the transit authority reviewed the proposals, Boston-based CDM Smith emerged as the successful finalist, according to the resolution presented to the council.
U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen speaks on January 18, 2023 about the federal funds previously awarded to Connect Transit
Connect Transit’s board has tentatively approved a project agreement with CDM Smith worth about $3.1 million, which still has to be voted on by the council on Monday. Specifically, the resolution before the council calls for the city to provide $452,178 to cover “preliminary parking planning and some shared costs.”
The contract includes work for a three-story building with two levels of parking above the ground-floor transit center. Additional fees could apply if officials decide to add a third level of parking, according to the memo to council.
“We will know more once we are further along in the design process,” Tyus wrote.
According to council documents, grants awarded to Connect Transit may only be used for the interchange station portion of the project.
The Bloomington City Council has not yet agreed on the terms of the sale or lease of the parking garage property to Connect Transit. However, the transit agency’s agreement with CDM Smith calls for the company to assist Connect Transit in negotiations with the city to acquire the project site.
The ground floor of the Market Street garage currently houses a U.S. Postal Service facility. City officials have said they would like to keep a post office downtown and are in discussions with the Postal Service, which asked residents in May for feedback on possible alternative downtown locations.
