‘We know what we’re doing now.’ Bradenton parking garage has unofficial opening date
In a tense meeting with the Bradenton City Council, the construction managers for the downtown sidewalk project suggested Wednesday an opening date for the new parking garage that has been delayed for months.
The issues with the sidewalk have been sorted out, according to Jon Swift, who has overseen the project from the beginning. Now, he says, his Jon F. Swift Construction company is confident that they can move forward quickly.
“I’m confident that we know what we’re doing now,” he said.
The piece of the sidewalk design that needs to be finished prior to the $13.8 million City Centre garage opening could “easily” be completed by the end of October, Swift said.
The 4-story garage was originally slated to open in March 2019. Guests at the new Spring Hill Suites hotel are able to park on the ground floor of the garage but the remaining three floors remain closed.
“Conditions permitting, you could be able to open the garage by the end of next week,” Swift told council members. “If conditions aren’t right, we’re not going to go ahead, because we’ll have another problem.”
The hold-up has caused frustration among officials across the board. Problems arose with the color of the brown concrete, which prompted workers to remove it and try again. Another issue came up when the wrong blue wave accent glass was ordered for the project.
“I’ve been the most critical because we have a parking garage that should’ve been open months ago,” Councilman Gene Brown said at Wednesday’s meeting. “I still don’t get what’s taking so long. It’s our image and it comes down to your image. It’s very frustrating for me.”
“To say this is not going well is an understatement,” Councilman Patrick Roff added.
Swift, along with engineers and concrete experts, walked the council through the timeline of the delays.
“In my personal opinion, we rushed to meet schedules and we got ourselves in trouble. We made choices that affect our pocketbook and both our reputations,” said Swift. “We hit some stumbling blocks, and everything is hypercritical now. We’ve got the right people here, I think we’ve got the right products and we’re ready to move forward.”
The next phase is the “crown jewel” of the $6 million streetscaping project. A blue glass aggregate will be poured along the middle of existing concrete. That process could begin as soon as Thursday, if weather conditions allow.
There are four sections of glass to be laid. The only one holding up the garage from opening is the portion of sidewalk from Third Street down to the new Springhill Suites by Marriott hotel, Economic Development Director Carl Callahan noted.
“I want to see the blue get started and then we can get some consulting done and set an opening date,” he said.
Even after the garage opens, construction related to beautification and infrastructure will continue along Old Main Street until the end of summer 2020, Callahan said. Roff, however, said the project would have to move forward without his blessing.
“I’m just seeing this as a project I can no longer put my faith in,” said Roff. “This is not working out well and we should stick with what we’ve got.”
Mayor Wayne Poston, however, cautioned against halting the project altogether.
“We’re looking to replace the pipes underground, and what goes on top can be another discussion,” Poston said.
“It’s not just concrete. It’s the lighting into the trees, the new receptacles for events. It’s the seating,” Callahan added. “It’s all of those things combined.”
The entire streetscaping project extends along Old Main Street from Ninth Avenue to First Avenue West.
