A mild winter has allowed crews to continue to work this month on the village-owned parking deck near Hinsdale Middle School.
“The parking deck is going very well,” said Brad Bloom, assistant village manager. “I’m really pleased with how it’s coming together. The precast looks good.”
Precast concrete delivery began the week of Dec. 9, and all 215 pieces have been assembled.
“It was something to watch,” Bloom said. “The majority of the structure is up. Now it’s just the smaller parts — adding the electrical, adding the plumbing, the camera system. A lot of caulking needs to be done. A lot of the finish work has yet to completed.”
The schedule had called for a break in construction at about this time, but the weather has not been an issue.
“We had planed to stop for a period of time during the winter months. That is currently being re-evaluated,” Bloom said.
Southbound Garfield Avenue has been closed from First to Third streets since Monday for installation of a water drain line. The road should reopen Friday, Jan. 17, as scheduled, Bloom said.
The village’s owner’s rep, HR Green, has been overseeing the day-to-day construction. Bloom said he’s at the site two to three times a week as well.
“We have a regular established meeting over there at the construction trailer once a week, and then I’ll stop by from time to time to take a look at the project.”
The village and Community Consolidated Elementary District 181 are sharing the cost of the $9.9 million deck, with the village paying about $7.7 million and the school district contributing $1.3 million. Another $900,000 will be generated through a special service area tax on downtown property owners. Bloom said there have been no surprises and costs have been in line with the budget.
No students or parents have reported conflicts or incidents with the construction traffic, according to a report that was part of Monday’s District 181 Board meeting packet.
The ground level of the deck will be used by Hinsdale Middle School staff. Village officials are still discussing how to allocate the 189 spaces on the lower level.
“We’re still determining how exactly those are going to be used to most efficiently take advantage of our parking supply,” Bloom said.
The process for making that decision and whether input will be sought from residents, business owners and the Hinsdale Chamber of Commerce has not been determined, either, he said.
Informal feedback has been favorable, Bloom indicated.
“I’ve heard a lot of positive comments in the community about how it looks and how it fits into the slope of the land at the school — and a lot of people excited about the additional parking that’s coming,” he said.
That’s the sentiment in District 181 as well.
“The progress during the last few weeks has been amazing,” said Mike Duggan, facilities director. “My understanding is that it is on schedule and we are excited about its completion this spring and being able to utilize it for the next school year.”
