Jefferson City Council approves $2.1-million garage demolition
Published by John on
A downtown garage is one step closer to coming down.
The Jefferson City Council voted 8-1 on a $2.1-million expense to demolish the Madison Street garage. Ward 1 Councilman Aaron Mealy was the lone dissenting vote and Ward 1 Councilman Randy Hoselton was absent.
The city has to demolish the deteriorating garage structure to make room for a new conference center with a joint hotel and parking garage. The conference center facility will be in the space between Madison Street and Monroe Street and between East Capitol Avenue and Commercial Alley.
The city selected Garfield Public/Private as the lead development team and GPP’s latest proposals indicate 34,500 square feet of meeting space for the conference center, 200 hotel rooms and 526 parking spaces in the garage with a $129-million cost estimate.
Mealy said during the Oct. 6 City Council meeting he plans to vote against bills related to the conference center project.
McCownGordon’s proposal states demolition will begin Dec. 29 and be complete by May 1. The contractor’s bid package included three alternative projects: Construction of a new surface parking lot at the conference center site in case the conference center project fails for $565,520, shoring of the former News Tribune site at 210 Monroe St. for $348,740 and demolition of the former News Tribune building’s foundation walls for $17,900.
Those alternates were not included in the final price to demolish the Madison Street garage.
Public Works Director Kyle Bruemmer said part of the demolition will include shoring at the Commercial Avenue alley between the parking garage and the restaurant “Bones.” Shoring is the process of using props to temporarily support a building or trench wall to keep it from collapsing.
Bruemmer also said there are wastewater, water, gas and electric utilities in the ground under Commercial Alley, adding an increase in difficulty to the shoring process.
Bruemmer said the contractor will have to maintain pedestrian access to Bones during the demolition.
The city has $2 million from the state government for the new garage and until June 30, 2026, to spend that money, Bruemmer told the council Monday. The resolution approving the $2.1-million expenditure states the city “can utilize this funding for demolition of the existing parking structure.”
After the City Council meeting, City Administrator Brian Crane said the city is at risk of losing the $2 million state appropriation if the city does not complete the demolition soon.
Paul Samson, project engineer with the Jefferson City Regional Economic Partnership, said the city will also use funds from public parking revenue to cover the demolition cost.
Right after Monday’s meeting, the Capital City Corporation for Growth — the nonprofit group that will own the downtown conference center — also approved the demolition contract. Crane said both entities must approve the demolition expense.
The Capital City Corporation for Growth consists of all 10 members of the City Council and the mayor. Mealy voted no during that meeting as well.
