The Poplar Bluff City Council is expected to select a demolition company May 16 for the removal of a portion of a downtown parking garage and a vacant Main Street building.
The city received three bids, all slightly under the project estimate, for the project, according to information presented Monday to the city council during their regular meeting.
Smith & Company Engineers have recommended the low bidder, Strack Excavating, which submitted a bid of $193,140 for the three projects. The bid includes removing the top of the long-shuttered downtown parking garage on Broadway, the removal of concrete slabs at the neighboring property and the demolition of 211 S. Main St.
If the bid is approved, work is expected to start June 1 and take 30 days, city manager Matt Winters said.
Original estimates for the project were approximately $200,000.
“I’m also asking to use ARPA (federal American Rescue Plan Act) funds to pay for this project,” Winters said. “One of the original intentions of the ARPA funding was to support and assist small businesses, a group that was hardest hit by COVID.
“By removing some of these blighted conditions in Downtown Poplar Bluff, we’re improving the environment for these small businesses to open and thrive in our downtown area.”
These areas have been an eyesore and unused for years, he explained.
This will open street-level parking back up, and keep the stairway to Main Street.
“I think it’s going to see a lot of use. There’s a lot of activity going on downtown that’s going to need this parking,” Winters said.
Winters confirmed the lower level will be ready for use after demolition, with the exception of some cosmetic and lighting work.
Other bidders for this project were: Kevin Williams of Fairdealing, $195,000; and Spirtas Wrecking of St. Louis, $199,600.
Engineers said they were familiar with Strack, a Cape Girardeau company, and believed the company to be capable of handling the project.
The bid includes $112,500 for demolition of the parking garage; $43,200 for removal of concrete on the adjacent lot; and $37,440 for demolition of the Main Street building.