Valpo plans $32M transit center downtown

VALPARAISO | The city has been successful the past eight years in getting state and federal grants to help pay for many of its projects, but now it is grabbing for the big brass ring.

Valparaiso filed an application for a $25.9 million federal grant under the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER III) Discretionary Grant program to pay 80 percent of the cost of redeveloping the northwest corner of Morgan Boulevard and Lincolnway into the Valparaiso Area Transit Center.

As described in the proposal submitted to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, the four-story center would cost about $32.3 million. The passenger loading and unloading area for the city's bus services -- the V-Line and the ChicaGo Dash -- would be on the first level alongside retail businesses and parking. The buses would not be housed there.

The second and third levels would provide more parking for bicycles and cars and include charging stations for electric cars. It also would be the hub for Car Sharing rentals. The top level would be residential with some units set aside for the elderly or disabled who want to maintain a lifestyle without a car.

"The bus loading and unloading platforms will be located behind the retail area on the first floor in order to allow users convenient access to the shops," the application, prepared by DLZ, states. "The bus loading area also will feature a raised platform that will allow easy access for disabled persons."

Buses would enter the rear of the building off Jefferson Street and load or unload passengers without subjecting them to rain or snow. Buses then would exit onto Lincolnway through an arch in the front.

"The project will also redesign vehicular and pedestrian circulation, complete pathway/greenway linkages and upgrade existing utilities to accommodate the facility," DLZ states. "The fourth floor will utilize a unique and innovative public/private partnership to construct 20 to 24 housing units."

The plan is for the city to own the building and lease the retail space, but Redevelopment Commission Executive Director Stuart Summers said the option also is available to sell as condominium space the retail and the residential units. The parking and transit features would remain in the city's control. Summers said it would have about 2 1/2 times the existing parking on the site.

The project would require acquiring and relocating the Round the Clock restaurant, but the rest of the property needed already belongs to the city or is within the public right of way. Summers said the restaurant owner was approached about the plan by a city official.

"I understand he would be interested as long as he is treated fairly," Summers said. "There are all sorts of options for him, but we haven't discussed them with him yet. He could be relocated across the street or he could occupy space on the first level of the new building or he could go elsewhere."

The business owner could not be reached for comment.

A decision on awarding the $568 million in TIGER III grants authorized by Congress isn't expected until late January or early February. The minimum grant under the program is $10 million, but competition is fierce and the program still must survive the deficit-reduction efforts in Congress.

If it is approved, the city is pledging about $3.4 million in matching funds and expects about $3 million in private investment to account for the 20 percent local share. The city would spend 2012 doing the engineering plans and acquiring the property to be ready for construction in 2013. Construction would take about a year.

If the grant is not approved, Summers said the city would submit it again if TIGER grants are offered in the future. He said the cost probably would make it impossible to fund strictly with local public-private funding.