Landing in sight: Estopinal Group hired to develop plans for Big Four landing

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June 14, 2012

Landing in sight: Estopinal Group hired to develop plans for Big Four landing

By BRADEN LAMMERS braden.lammers@newsandtribune.com The News and Tribune Thu Jun 14, 2012, 09:06 AM EDT

JEFFERSONVILLE — The city has a plan for its approach to the Big Four Bridge, in theory.

Jeffersonville’s Redevelopment Commission approved a conceptual design plan for the landing of the Big Four Bridge, a bicycle and pedestrian crossing over the Ohio River that will land near the intersection of Pearl and Chestnut streets. The plan, developed by the Estopinal Group was approved 3-2 with Commission Members Dennis Julius and James Lake voting against.

The decision to hire the Estopinal Group to develop a site plan was rushed following a meeting June 4 that pitted a plan from Mayor Mike Moore’s administration — that included a red brick plaza, several buildings and a farmers’ market — against a plan from Construction Solutions — which featured a large park space with several shade trees.

Part of the concern was that Construction Solutions’ plan included enough open space to allow for former Mayor Tom Galligan’s proposed canal project. Construction Solutions was the manager on the canal project. Moore opposed the plan to construct the waterway downtown, which was also developed to deal with the city’s stormwater overflows.

The proposal that left room to eventually incorporate a canal in the design also led to the resignation of the Redevelopment Commission’s former President Mike Hutt.

“We left Monday night’s meeting embarrassed as a commission [and] way behind where we need to be with no plan of action,” Lake said during Wednesday’s meeting.

According to the commission members a request-for-proposal was emailed to both design companies on Friday, and it was due Tuesday.

“I think our feeling was we needed to desperately keep this ball moving,” Julius said referring to issuing the request-for-proposal.

The Estopinal Group, which said it had been developing site plans for months pro-bono, was the only company in attendance Wednesday.

Moore addressed the plan that left room to construct a canal and the disputes that have plagued the project.

“I’m sorry, we’re not going to build the canal,” he said. “Move on. We’ve got a plan that we’ve talked to the Estopinal Group about. It’s not my plan, it’s not Peggy Duffy’s plan, it’s a theory of what we have and what we have to work with. I want this to be Jeffersonville’s plan.”

Moore offered that he wanted to hold public hearings in the coming weeks to hear from the public what they would like to see the approach to bridge become.

“I don’t think it’s my decision to sit here and say, ‘here’s what we’re going to do,’” he said. “I think it’s very important to take our time and ask the community and that’s what we’re going to be doing.”

R. Wayne Estopinal, president of the Estopinal Group, presented the concept for a two-phase project which would include a public space and space that can be used as a revenue generator.

The first phase would include a landing area with two adjacent water features, an open air pavilion and a playground. Phase two would place mixed use developments — which would include businesses and residential spaces — along Market Street, between Mulberry and Pearl streets, and along Mulberry Street at the corner of Maple Street.

He said the full estimate, through construction, would total $363,000. To complete schematic design plans for phase one Estopinal said it would cost $54,450.

“You’re already buying a very significant piece of this in the ramp to the Big Four,” Estopinal said. “What you do, and what you decide to do and what the citizens decide to do around it will really make it our element at the end of the Big Four Bridge.”

While commission members lauded that suggestions from the June 4 meeting were incorporated into the design, not all of the members were willing to enter into a contract with the Estopinal Group.

Requests included a desire for more open space at the landing, as well as a staging area for events.

“Having not ever seen the contract or knowing that it was going to be presented tonight, I can’t vote in favor of it,” Lake said. “I just don’t think the process was fairly presented.

Newly appointed Commission Member, Jack Vissing, made a motion to enter into a contract with the Estopinal Group to develop the design plans for phase one of the project, which was approved.

But before any construction begins or any bids are taken to build the project, another contract and approval will have to be made.

Look for more from Wednesday’s Redevelopment meeting in an upcoming edition of the News and Tribune.