Village of East Dundee discusses proposals for the construction of a parking garage much to the dismay of some residents
EAST DUNDEE — On Oct. 2, the Village of East Dundee Board of Trustees was tasked to respond to three Requests for Proposals (RFP) that were submitted for the design and construction of a parking garage in the downtown area.
According to the Village Board meeting agenda packet, in 2022, East Dundee village staff were presented with options for the addition of parking to serve downtown East Dundee. One of those recommendations involved the construction of a “contextually appropriate” two-story parking garage with a historic façade at the corner of Jackson and River Street.
Last December, the Village Board gave direction to contract with the East Dundee engineer to draft RPF documents that would be released to the public to obtain pricing for a parking garage utilizing a design-building process.
As of August, the village received three bids that were reviewed and scored by staff. Following further review from the village engineer, East Dundee staff decided to award the project to McHugh Construction.
East Dundee Trustee Andy Sauder states that the project was being recommended due to the large potential of development in the pipeline for both the core downtown and the adjacent areas. Additionally, the current mix of successful restaurants and other establishments in East Dundee has created a substantial parking shortage.
“It was suggested that grants would cover a significant amount of the cost if it were a building [versus] a [parking] lot. We have almost $1 million in grant funding for a building, but costs are coming in close to $6 million to $7 million which is about $40,000 per parking spot,” explained Sauder via Facebook.
Village staff state that the timeline for construction for the parking garage project has a target completion date of October 2024 if all goes according to plan.
“This isn’t the only option to improve parking, but it’s one worth considering and discussing. I do see similar garage solutions in place in Elgin, St. Charles, and Geneva’s downtowns to allow the downtown to continue to grow and draw in more people to the restaurants,” said Sauder. “Alternative solutions might be a remote lot with frequent shuttles or more plots turned into flat parking lots.
Following the announcement of the parking garage project, several residents chimed in with their disapproval of how the village is choosing to spend on the project when other projects in East Dundee require attention.
Sauder explained that other major costs the village has to consider include the need for a few million dollars to fund their police pension fund and East Dundee’s need to replace lead service lines throughout the village.
