A contract amendment for designs of the parking garage at the Covington Central Riverfront development is set to be finalized next week.
The work is part of the second infrastructure design phase of the development, which includes designs for the parking garage, as well as an entertainment staging area, a looping road through the area, a land bridge and finally concession and restroom areas. The Covington Board of Commissioners voted to approve an initial version of the contract with architectural firm KZF Design — which headed up the first phase of the site’s infrastructure — in January.
The area in question is on the north end of the site along Rivercenter Boulevard, according to contract documents from earlier this year. Contract documents from this week indicate the city paused the initial design work for the garage in May to gather more input from prospective developers.
The initial design contract from January carried a price tag of $565,190, and this week’s contract amendment would allow for the design budget to increase by up to $489,898.
“This work includes increasing the capacity of the foundations and columns to provide greater flexibility for future development of the garage,” explained Economic Development Director John Sadosky. “KZF will also complete the construction drawings needed to finalize pricing.”
The contract amendment states the new garage design aims to accommodate buildings on top of the structure, specifically “up to two separate seven-story office buildings to be located on the west side of the expansion joint and up to two separate two-story buildings to be located between the loop road and land bridge.”
City Commissioner James Toebbe requested the contract amendment appear on the city’s regular agenda for next week, meaning it will appear as a separate item to be voted upon, rather than as one on a list of items on the consent agenda. The commissioners may engage in additional discussion of the contract amendment before casting their votes.
The legislative meeting where the vote will take place will begin at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 27.
