[Vision2020] Restaurant for Third and Jackson

[Moscow Cares]

Courtesy of today's (September 16, 2016) Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

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Restaurant for Third and Jackson
MURA to help fund three improvement projects
A developer's plans call for the construction of a new restaurant at the southwest corner of Third and Jackson streets, Scott Becker, the principal engineer at Hodge and Associates Inc., told the Moscow Urban Renewal Agency on Thursday morning.

Construction at the site, which is currently occupied by the out-of-business Vern's Chevron service station, is expected to start in October.

Larry Swanger, who owns the property, plans to demolish the existing structure and replace it with a modular facility. MURA Commissioner Art Bettge said the restaurant is expected to be placed on the street corner of the property and a parking lot for the restaurant would sit at the Chevron service station site.

MURA Executive Director Bill Belknap said Thursday that staff wants to extend the street frontage improvements installed in front of the EMSI project along Swanger's frontage on Third and Jackson streets. Proposed improvements along Jackson Street would include installation of curbing, expanded sidewalks, tree wells, grates, new street trees and decorative lighting fixtures, according to the MURA Thursday agenda. Improvements along Third Street would include new curbing, sidewalks and a driveway approach.

Belknap said the early cost estimate for the street frontage improvements is about $90,000. He said Swanger agreed to pay 50 percent of the initial improvement cost, or $45,000 at this time, if the MURA repays him through an owner participation agreement. The MURA would then pay the remaining 50 percent of the project cost. The agency approved the financial agreement Thursday and an OPA will be prepared for a MURA meeting on Oct. 6.

Becker said the street frontage improvements are expected to be completed by the end of October.

The MURA also plans to provide money for street frontage improvements for the redevelopment project on the northwest corner of Sixth and Asbury streets - the former Stax location. The developer of the three-story, mixed-use project is determining the cost of the improvements and a reimbursement method that will be presented to the MURA at its Oct. 6 meeting.

ADA accessibility improvements and other public infrastructure improvements would be included, Belknap said. The agenda said the developer wants help with the cost of removal and replacement of surrounding sidewalks and curbing, and the installation of tree wells and tree gates around the two existing trees on Sixth Street.

Belknap said the city will replace sanitary sewer and storm lines on Sixth Street next year, which will affect the curbing and sidewalks in the area. He said the Public Works Department determined that in consideration of the city's upcoming project, it might be best to delay the street frontage improvements on Sixth and Asbury streets until after the city's project is complete next summer.

The MURA board approved $483,102 in financial assistance to Gritman Medical Center for downtown improvements during its last meeting Sept. 1, pending an OPA. On Thursday, Gritman requested more financial assistance and the MURA board agreed to it.
Gritman requested an additional $133,660.22 - $46,026 for fiber optics, $17,888 for an additional Eighth Street curb and sidewalk, $37,630 for concrete sealant and $32,116.22 for sidewalk installation on the west side of Jackson Street/U.S. Highway 95. The new total financial assistance the MURA plans to provide to Gritman is an amount no more than $616,762.22.

The board may or may not fund the concrete sealant financial portion.

Public Works and the streets division are still researching the effectiveness of the concrete sealant that would be used for the project, Belknap said.

Half of the fiber optics line will most likely be outside the Legacy Crossing Urban Renewal District, Belknap said. Therefore, the MURA board would only pay for about half of the fiber optics portion, or about $23,000.

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Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .

"Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants on)
http://www.MoscowCares.com
  
Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

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