Guelph, Ont., July 18, 2017 – Last night, Guelph City Council approved fully building out the Wilson Street parkade with two additional storeys and a total of 496 parking spots, to better serve Guelph’s downtown parking needs sooner.
During a special Council meeting on July 17, staff recommended that an additional $8.5 million in funding be approved, which includes $6.8 million of debt funding forecasted for the future Neeve Street parkade and $1.7 million transferred from existing City reserve funds, to optimize the Wilson Street reconstruction and parkade project.
“We want to build the right parking solution for Guelph’s downtown—one large parkade on Wilson Street is a better and more timely solution than two smaller ones,” explains Peter Cartwright, general manager of Business Development and Enterprise. “By expanding the Wilson Street parkade instead of pursuing a second parkade on Neeve Street in a few years, the City will provide more downtown parking sooner, the most affordable per unit parking spots and the shortest amount of time for the site to be out of service.”
The $8.5 million additional budget covers funding for each of the three components of the Wilson Street project, including $7.7 million for the parkade; $680,000 for completing the reconstruction of Wilson Street from Gordon to Carden streets; and $125,000 for replacing the pedestrian bridge over Norfolk Street.
The City has been working with The Newton Group Ltd., the project’s single proponent of the second request for proposals, on three options presented to Council. The approved option increases the number of storeys—based on the allowable building height— and the number of spots from 302 to 496. It will also ensure the parkade is designed to visually complement the downtown as outlined in the Downtown Guelph Streetscape Manual and Built Form Standards.
A design-build contract for $20.4 million will be awarded to Newton Construction Ltd., the detailed design and approvals process will start immediately, and construction will begin next spring.
About the Wilson Street reconstruction and parkade project:
The Wilson Street reconstruction and parkade project includes building a parkade on the Wilson Street parking lot; upgrading Wilson Street from Gordon/Norfolk Street to Macdonell Street (Schedule B Municipal Class Environmental Assessment); and replacing the aging pedestrian bridge over Norfolk Street.
The Wilson Street parkade was identified as the first major capital project within the Council approved Parking Master Plan.