City Council on Monday approved a bond ordinance that will cover its share of extending Monroe Street through a new downtown development.
The $500,000 bond ordinance (O-22-18) includes a down payment of $23,810, for a principal of $476,190 to finance improvements that will include but not be limited to excavation, milling, paving, underground utility installation, curb and sidewalk reconstruction, roadway painting, retaining walls and other landscaping. The measure was approved on second reading (a public hearing and final vote) during Monday’s monthly, regular City Council meeting.
The $55-million Main & Monroe development is a 196-unit complex that will include two buildings, separated by Monroe Street, which will be extended west from Main Street to East Cherry Street. Following environmental remediation on the site early this year, construction on Main & Monroe began this past summer on the first of two buildings. The south building is the larger one, with amenities and 112 units, located farther south along Main Street, closer to East Cherry Street.
The 45-unit Gramercy development along East Cherry Street also was impacted by the Monroe Street extension, having to coordinate some of the construction around planning for the Main & Monroe project. Developers of the Gramercy also will contribute to the cost of the Monroe Street extension.
The south building of Main & Monroe will include 112 of the 196 units, along with 120 spaces in a ground-floor parking garage and about 2,200 feet of ground-floor retail. The Monroe Street extension is expected to include 13 metered parking spaces, along with 14 parking spaces along Main Street, where there previously were seven spaces. Lot B and street parking had about 63 parking spaces; the new configuration is expected to yield a 55-space lot, along with seven on-street spaces.
The financial agreement with Main & Monroe, which includes a 30-year Payment In Lieu Of Taxes (PILOT) was amended in October to allow for the use of Redevelopment Area Bonds (RAB). RABs are expected to used as part of the financing for the Monroe Street extension. RAB proceeds typically are paid to the redeveloper and applied toward the cost of construction of the project and also can be used to fund infrastructure improvements.