Construction on new Cedar Rapids parking ramps to start this summer

UPDATE: Construction is now planned to start this summer on two new city parking ramps in the downtown.

Work on a 500-space ramp, across First Avenue East from the citys Convention Complex and hotel, is expected to start first, with work on a second, 550-plus-space ramp, on Second Street SE between Sixth and Seventh avenues SE near the new federal courthouse, slated to start by late summer.

The First Avenue East ramp should be ready in the spring of 2013, in time for the completion of the hotel renovation and the completion of the Convention Complex project, which includes a new convention center and the renovation of the arena connected to the hotel.

The Second Street SE ramp should be complete in the summer of 2013, city engineering manager Rob Davis said Monday.

Davis said the estimated cost of the Convention Complex ramp is $13 million, which includes the cost of design, construction and some property acquisition. The city owns most of the property and currently uses it for a surface parking lot. The Second Street SE ramp, which will go up on city-owned land, is expected to cost $11 million, he said.

The ramps are expected to include some commercial retail space on their first floors, with the Convention Complex ramp connected to the citys skywalk system. The Second Street SE ramp one day may be connected to the system, Doug Neumann, executive vice president at the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance, said Monday.

The Alliance manages the citys downtown parking operation, and Neumann said those parking in the two new ramps will pay higher rates than those parking in other city ramps.

The expectation is that the parking fees in the new ramps will cover more than 90 percent of the cost of the debt taken on to build the new ramps, Neumann said.

At its meeting Tuesday, the City Council will vacate a piece of city-owned right of way needed for the Convention Complex ramp project.

On Tuesday, the council also will approve its annual budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1. The councils proposed budget calls for selling bond debt to provide funds to build the Second Street SE ramp.

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Construction on new Cedar Rapids parking ramps to start this summer