Bethlehem’s deteriorating Walnut Street parking garage is in such bad shape it may need $800,000 of repairs before the city tears it down.
Currently, the Bethlehem Parking Authority is in the midst of a study analyzing the cost, impact and financial feasibility of tearing down the deteriorating Walnut Street parking garage and reconstructing a new one in its place. It is estimated the garage could need $12 million to $14 million in repairs over the next 15 years if it were to remain open.
As the authority awaits the report from Desman Design Management, the 45-year-old parking deck continues to pose a safety hazard and legal liability for the parking entity, authority attorney Jim Broughal told the authority’s board members Wednesday.
This means the authority may be about to sink $800,000 into repairing a garage it could raze in the next few years.
Authority board member Mark Jobes questioned the wisdom of throwing good money after bad. He suggested waiting for the feasibility study, which is expected in the next three months, before authorizing additional repairs to Walnut Street.
“Here’s the problem: we have a condition report for the Walnut Street garage. It is not good. It is not good,” Broughal said, adding the authority must take steps to protect the public. “Now we have knowledge there are issues with the garage and we have to move ahead and get those issues taken care of or we’ve got to close the garage now.”
It’s estimated shuttering the garage would cost the authority about $800,000 annually, Broughal said. And the 777-space deck had many permit parkers, who would need to be relocated. The feasibility study is expected to present a plan for the permit parkers.
Jobes questioned if the authority should close the garage and move the permit parkers to other lots, as there is availability due to decreased parking demand thanks to the coronavirus pandemic.
Both city and authority officials are leaning towards replacing the aging garage because it prevents a rare opportunity to fully redesign a core block in Bethlehem’s historic Center City. It is estimated that a new garage could be built on 60% of the current footprint, which spans a city block.
If the city and authority decide to raze Walnut Street, there’s no question that the $800,000 on repairs is money down the drain, but it is unavoidable due to liability, Broughal said. Mayor Bob Donchez, who is term-limited has said that decision lies in the hands of the next mayor elected this year.
Parking Authority Executive Director Steve Fernstrom noted that even if the authority decides to replace the garage soon, the planning and design process will take a significant amount of time.
“These repairs are necessary to, the very least, to bridge us to where that garage could hypothetically come down,” he said.
Ultimately, the board voted to hire Desman to handle the engineering services and bidding for the emergency repairs to Walnut Street at a cost of $58,500. In its proposal, Desman estimates this round of repairs should cost $800,000. The final repair contract will come back to the board for approval later this year.
“I hate to do it because I think it is wasteful but I don’t know that there is any other option,” Jobes said.
The authority board selected Desman over two other proposals from THA Consulting and Pennoni. THA submitted an extensive proposal with tiered costs based on the scope of repairs needed. If the garage needed $500,000 of work, THA’s $46,400 fee was cheaper than Desman. But if $800,000 of work is needed the fee rises to $66,400. Pennoni’s proposal did not outline estimated repair costs and its fee was the highest at $89,900.
About $600,000 was slated for repairs for the garage in 2019 and 2020. That number grew by $298,000 after a survey in the spring identified areas that needed emergency repairs.
A 2018 parking study estimated keeping Walnut Street open would cost $9 million to $11.5 million and about $20 million to tear down and replace it.
The authority on Wednesday board also got a financial update. The authority ended 2020 with a $1.5 million revenue shortfall, but managed to finish the year just $46,295 in the black after making a $500,000 transfer to city coffers.
But the authority expects its final 2020 balance sheet to improve. It received two Paycheck Protection Program loans to help keep it afloat and it just learned the first one was forgiven. That’s $300,000 is not reflected in the budget.
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Sara K. Satullo may be reached at ssatullo@lehighvalleylive.com.
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February 28, 2021 at 08:30PM
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Walnut Street garage may need $800K of repairs even though it could soon come down (PHOTOS) - lehighvalleylive.com
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