Construction of New Downtown Concordia Parking Lot to Begin This Month

The City of Concordia expects to begin construction on a new downtown parking lot this month.

The city intends to build a public parking lot on the site where the houses at 326 and 330 W. 6th Street once stood, located immediately west of the existing Brown Grand Theatre parking lot.  This new parking lot will address blight and improve public infrastructure to support economic development within the established boundaries of the Concordia Redevelopment District 2000, commonly known as the "TIF District."  A portion of the funds from the TIF Project Fund are required to complete this project.

Mayor Ashley Hutchinson says this project will provide additional off-street parking for local nearby businesses, the adjacent entertainment venue, and two nearby churches as well as for large public events held downtown.

Demolition of two dilapidated houses located at 326 and 330 W. 6th Street, just west of the Brown Grand Theatre, was completed in April 2022. Bids for the downtown parking lot were solicited in late May.  Last week, the Concordia City Commission approved the bid from Orr Wyatt Streetscapes in the amount of $210,670 and authorized Concordia City Manager Amy Lange to sign the contract.

Funding for this project is from the TIF Project Fund.

Presently $195,932.72 remains in the TIF Project Fund unallocated for project expenses, so is available for construction.  Any amount spent on this project beyond what is available in the TIF Project Fund will come from the city's Capital Improvements Program (CIP) budget.

The new parking lot will be paved with concrete, and the sidewalk and drive approaches along west 6th Street adjacent to this site will be replaced.  Six new light fixtures will illuminate the 30 new parking spaces.  The light fixtures will coordinate with the time period at which the Brown Grand Theatre was constructed, and will feature brick bases with a capstone.  Additionally, conduit to serve a future electric vehicle charging station will be installed.  And Hutchinson says no parking blocks will be installed to facilitate more efficient snow removal.

The goal is to have this parking lot ready to receive traffic by late September, just in time for Fall Fest.