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A Youngstown company has the lowest proposal among six to turn a parcel into a parking lot
YOUNGSTOWN
The city will consider a $194,367 proposal from Murphy Contracting Co. to turn the former Kress Building site into a parking lot for those paying their water and sewer bills at nearby city hall.
Murphy, a Youngstown company, had the lowest proposed cost among the six contractors seeking the job. The next lowest was $205,728 from United Civil Contractors of Hubbard. The city’s estimated cost was $225,755.
The other four proposals were over the estimate with prices ranging from $241,632 to $286,413.
Under city law, Youngs-town cannot accept a proposal for work that exceeds the estimate.
“I’m pleased with the number,” said Charles Shasho, deputy director of public works. “But we had a wide variety of” proposal amounts.
Murphy has done work for the city before, but it’s been on building projects such as the new fire station on the city’s South Side, Shasho said.
Work should start later this month or in April and be done in August, he said.
The city plans for the existing dirt lot to be paved with space for about 20 parking spots to be used by its water and sewer customers, Shasho said. There would be some system to make sure those were the only people using that parking lot during business hours.
City officials plan to provide free parking at the lot after business hours on weekdays and all day on weekends for those coming downtown.
The Youngstown Central Area Community Improvement Corp. owned the West Federal Street property, next to the 7th District Court of Appeals, and had the building demolished. That project was finished in August 2014.
As part of a deal, Youngstown paid $500,000 to the CIC for the Kress property with the CIC signing a 20-year lease for $100 annually to operate a parking lot where the Paramount Theatre, also on West Federal Street, once stood. The money given by the city paid for nearly all of the CIC’s demolition cost for Kress.