News 5-9-07 Canopy Approved

5/8/07 - COUNCIL APPROVES CANOPY PROEJCT - The City Council approved the same design that was presented to the Citizens Advisory Committee meeting I went to last week. It's far better than the previous scaled back designs. Council members Jessica Sverazza and Dwight Dortch were fumed at the architects for increased design costs, and didn't understand how a canopy with a budget of $4,000,000 could have over $1,000,000 in architect fees. In the end I am glad the Canopy Subcommittee was formed and the vote initially delayed, or else we would have a much uglier canopy design than the one approved. Pic below. The final canopy isn't circular or Stridex-pad textured, it's actually a nice butterfly shape. From what I ascertained from the meeting, construction will start sometime in November/December once the event season downtown dies down a bit. On a side note, the translucent poly carbonate material that will compose the canopy is some of the coolest material I have seen: it's transparent enough for colored backlighting, filters out UV rays, can withstand from arctic temperatures to a hot 500 degrees, never fades or yellows, and is certified for Hurricane force winds.

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Posted by: Justin - 5/9/2007 5:07:21 PM
Yippie! I can't wait for this to get done. It's public spaces like this and the proposed train trench that will really solidify the transformation happening downtown. What's the latest of the estimate completion date? I hope they're able to secure some nice cafes/restaurants for the retail portion.

Posted by: Anakin-Marc - 5/9/2007 5:50:24 PM
Well, it took long enough, but I'm glad to see the time taken resulted in them making a decision to put up a great looking canopy. I wonder, though, will it be up in time for the winter ice rink?

Posted by: Mike Van H - 5/9/2007 7:24:12 PM
HI Justin, It will take approximately five months to prepare construction drawings and specifications. Once that process is complete, the bidding process will take approximately four weeks. The award of the contract could occur as soon as December of 2007 with construction expected to begin in May of 2008, after the ice skating season is over. If construction begins on schedule, completion of the project is anticipated in September of 2008.