Architects for the Roanoke City Market renovation gave city council its first detailed look at the project earlier this week. Cunningham Quill Architects told Roanoke City Council at its noon briefing Monday the total cost will be around $7.6 million.
Under the plan the architects prefer, the building would continue to be open for two months this summer while contractors stockpile supplies. The plan calls for the city market building to close around September 7, 2010.
The full-fledged renovation is estimated to last eight months, followed by two months during which vendors would be back in their spaces as work continued. Vendors would have to foot the bill for that work, but would get first dibs on new spaces in the renovated building.
The newly renovated city market building would then reopen sometime around July 2011. Council members kicked the plan back to architects at the meeting, saying that putting the vendors out for eight months was unacceptable.
Architects told council jspeeding up the process would cost an extra $1.5 million, and probably only knock one month off the construction time – going from ten months to nine months.
Roanoke City councilman Sherman Lea first proposed an idea to do the renovation work on a round-the-clock schedule, with the hopes vendors would only be out of the building four to six months.
Architects told council they would have to get back to them to see if that option was even feasible. Vendors told council it was not financially doable for them to leave the building for any more than six months.
Other items addressed by Council:
City Council voted to approve projects like the Washington Park pool upgrade, the demolition of the National Guard Armory on Reserve Avenue and further Roanoke River flood reduction work, after the city applies for recovery zone bonds backed by the federal stimulus package. Council also approved Ed Walker’s planned renovations at the shuttered Patrick Henry Hotel, for $2.4 million in bonds.
Also discussed at Monday’s meeting were possible future uses for the vacant William Ruffner Middle School and Raleigh Court Elementary School, which have been used for community events since their closing. School Board members briefed Council on the two schools; Raleigh Court could be torn down, at least partially, to create more park land.
All of the spending taking place in the city and a weakened economy that has meant less tax revenues could hurt Roanoke’s AA bond rating. Bonds used by the city to fund projects in recent years has raised its debt ceiling. “I do not like the thought of a downgrade in our bond rating,” Mayor David Bowers remarked on Monday.
A weakened bond rating could mean higher interest rates when the city tries to borrow money again in the future. Roanoke’s projected budget shortfall for the current year stands at about nine million dollars, and finance director Ann Shawver has said the next fiscal year could be even worse.
By Gene Marrano [email protected]