Public forum hears projected timeline, potential improvements for city parking garage

LACONIA — City Public Works Director Wes Anderson discussed the projected timeline, anticipated costs and considered recommendations from the public for the rehabilitation of the downtown parking garage at a meeting Wednesday. 

The rehabilitation will include both repair and renovation, updating the space to improve vehicle and pedestrian use and to prepare for future innovations such as potential parking peters or electric vehicle charging stations.

City Council decided last year to rehabilitate the downtown parking garage, which is currently largely unused due to structural and safety concerns, rather than replace the current structure or build a new one elsewhere. The city owns the second and third levels of the structure, while the land and commercial space under the parking garage are owned by 5623 Real Estate LLC, a private firm.

According to Anderson’s tentative timeline, the design phase will start in September and conclude in December so that the company managing construction selected by the city, Bonnette, Page & Stone, can start subcontractor bidding in January. Construction is anticipated to take about a year and conclude in April of 2024. 

A downtown urban planning study by Walker Consultants is currently underway to inform city parking and zoning needs for the project, Anderson said.

The project is, by today’s prices, anticipated to cost between about $8.6 and $12.7 million, depending on which and how many public suggestions are adopted in the plan and how many spaces are deemed necessary in the project. Anderson estimated the final figure would fall around $9 million, as not all suggestions would be undertaken in the design. This is compared to the estimated cost of demolition and construction of a new structure, totaling about $13.5 million.

Anderson presented suggestions from the public about what should be included in the renovation. Suggestions included improvements to turning radius in vehicle paths, the addition of a roof over the top level, electric vehicle charging stations, blue-light safety kiosks and the addition of a sidewalk along the Beacon Street East entrance. Anderson discussed the construction that could be undertaken to accomplish the suggestions and the costs associated with each. 

With inflation and skyrocketing construction costs, the projected rehabilitation price tag has risen from where it was just a year ago and from eight months ago, when officials recognized these forces would impact the final expense to the city. 

The audience included city officials — current City Manager Scott Myers, incoming city manager and current Fire Chief Kirk Beattie, and Planning Director Dean Trefethen — as well as consultant, design and construction team members Bob Durfee of Dubois and King consulting firm, Keith McBey of Bonnette, Page & Stone construction, and Peter Stewart of Stewart Architects, and a half-dozen members of the public. 

During public comment, attendees and officials discussed whether the inclusion of some kind of roof, and the ability to put solar panels atop it if desired, was worth its hefty cost of around $3 million.

Myers noted that rehabbing the garage also required the city to set money aside in future annual budgets for adequate ongoing maintenance. 

“You’re not going to put $9 or $10 million into a project and think that you’re good for the next 25 years without doing anything,” Myers said, adding that a reactive, rather than proactive, approach to maintenance had led to the situation the 50 year old building now faces.