‘I don’t want this to be a money pit.’ Downtown project moves forward despite issues
With assurances from the contractor that the problematic multi-colored sidewalks could be completed around the $13.8 million City Centre Parking Garage by the end of the month, Bradenton City Council members voted unanimously Wednesday to proceed with the project.
Last week, Jon Swift, owner of the Jon F. Swift Construction company, told council members that he was confident the problems with the look of the brown and blue sections of the sidewalk had been resolved and that work could be completed in the next few weeks.
City Administrator Carl Callahan said he plans to be at the City Centre Parking Garage on Oct. 19, during the Bradenton Farmers’ Market, to open the doors and let the public take a look at the new facility.
And maybe, just maybe, if the work has progressed sufficiently, visitors will be able to park there as well.
The garage originally was slated to open in March, but to date only the ground floor is open for SpringHill Suites hotel guests. The other three floors remain closed.
Callahan cautioned that while he is optimistic that sidewalk work around the parking garage will be completed by month’s end, sidewalk work around city hall and the SpringHill Suites will require more time.
“I don’t want this to be a money pit,” City Councilman Gene Brown said of future maintenance and potential problems with the sidewalk. “I love the project. I just don’t want to keep it going forever. If we have to tear it up and do it again, it’s going to be a problem because we’re disrupting business.”
Mayor Wayne Poston said he recently spent time at the Bradenton Farmers’ Market on Old Main Street and comments he heard from the public were 90 percent positive.
“Anecdotally, people are less worried about it than we are,” Poston said, adding that the Mona Lisa wasn’t the masterpiece at the beginning of painting that it became.
This story was originally published October 9, 2019 at 2:07 PM.
