New riverfront building's cost surprises some -QCTimes
I'll confess that I didn't know anything about this until Cruiser's post about it yesterday.
The city wants to spend half a million on a multipurpose pavilion near the skatepark. It would combine restrooms for Crescent Park with a concession counter for skateboarders, seating, lockers, and various mechanical functions for the park. Part of the expense is apparently related to the need for the building to be built above the flood plain.
Most of you could guess which Aldermen and Alderman in particular would be against this, and in some ways I can see how $500 grand sounds like a lot. Neither Cruiser's post or the QCTimes article specify whether this is part of the money that is already budgeted for Centennial Park in 2007, but I would guess that it is.
The skatepark is probably the most successful thing Davenport has built in years. If all of our projects were as well-used, Davenport would be one of the most vibrant cities in the Midwest. So really, why shouldn't we build off the success of the skatepark and have it be a more emphasized feature of Centennial Park? I'm also curious to see what the city gets in rent for the concession operator, because it seems like a lucrative opportunity. I'd actually like to see the concession open and staffed 24 hours a day, since the skatepark is supposed to be open 24/7. Having an employee there would be another set of eyes to keep an eye on the place at night. I highly doubt that will happen, since there's probably only a few people who need to buy their Red Bull or whatever for a 3am skate session.
It makes sense for the city to keep the kids safe by cutting down the number of trips across River Drive to the gas station, and it also makes sense to capture some of the potential revenue from all the hungry and thirsty skaters. I'm no engineer, but it also seems to make sense to combine multiple uses into one building. Sure, half a million isn't pennies, but this project is worth it. Or we could always just build a White Castle.
11 comments:
How much is 500G's going to look like to the parents of the first kid hit trying to cross River Drive -or to their lawyer?
Maybe Ald. Ambrose can relive some 'ol days by running the food stand. I've heard that his last job was serving hotdogs part time on the levee front. This would be a great job for him come November!
I'm also always amazed that Meyers complains about this kind of stuff, WHEN IT'S IN HIS WARD! Most aldermen would be happy to see this kind of money spent in there ward.
Up until recently, I worked for the government (30+ years), designing these very types of building (and in flood plains also) and this is not an unreasonable price. I know the square foot price seems high, but there is a lot more involved than just the building. The utility hub alone will jack up the price.
i've got a huge hard on for this project. I think its great to see.
antoine out
Breaking out the cost of the utilities to support the rest of the park would give a much clearer idea of the costs directly associated with the building.
I assume it makes sense to incrporate the utility hub into the building rather than a stand alone structure.
Seems like a sound project, if the costs can be substantiated as reasonable.
Ridiculous cost! That is more then $350.00 per square foot! Average commercial building cost, including handicapped accessibility is $150.00 per square foot. Who is getting paid off????
To 2:53pm
Try doing a little research. Check out crusers blog, it gives the breakdown.
Its not true actually, but not many things that I object to have really been proposed. I would most certainly be against a White Castle on the riverfront, or a Walmart, or many other commercial developments.
I'm not really a huge fan of the idea of a big fancy Main Street pier because I believe it would visually compete with the Skybridge.
I'm still somewhat against the Rock Island amphitheater idea because it will compete with the LeClaire Park bandshell, the District, and the proposed Crescent Park amphitheater.
I also posted about my reservations regarding the Oneida Landing condo project being too tall for the proposed location.
Another key difference is I'm always willing to admit the negatives about a project, but for some reason the negative people never seem to be willing to admit the positives.
Nearly every project has both.
As long as Malin is behind it so is QCI. He has a crush. He will learn with age.
I heard Ambroses last job was serving up his hotdog down on the levee.
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