The new City Building located at 305 N. Main St. officially opened to the public on July 18. The next phase of the project involves the demolition of the old building (304 N. Church St.) and construction of the shared parking lot with the Wood County District Public Library.
Impacts to parking and site access will occur as this phase of the project progresses.
Beginning July 31, city staff must park exclusively in Public Parking Lot 4. As a result, “City Staff Only” signs will be placed in additional parking spaces within Lot 4. During business hours the public will not be permitted to park in the “City Staff Only” spaces. The Police Division will be enforcing these temporary parking restrictions.
Those visiting the City Building should park in the public parking area located to the north of the new building. Dedicated handicapped parking is available in this parking area as well.
Beginning Aug. 7, parking restrictions will extend further into the library’s main parking lot. Use of the library lot will be restricted to the southern portion only, with access from Court Street. Library patrons may also use the Carter House parking lot.
From Aug. 7 – 11, access to the new City Building will be limited to one-way traffic from Main Street to Church Street. This is required due to the demolition of 304 N. Church St. The demolition should be completed by Aug. 14. At that point, traffic will be allowed to turn right or left into the parking area from Main Street. Vehicles must exit onto Church Street. Traffic will have full access from Church Street, meaning both left and right turns will be allowed to and from Church Street.
Throughout the demolition, pedestrians will have access to the City Building utilizing the sidewalk along the western side of the library. Both entrances to the library will remain open during the demolition.
Construction of the shared parking area is scheduled to begin around Sept. 11. Included in this phase of work is the excavation of the area needed for the 74,000-gallon stormwater detention basin (located essentially where 304 N. Church Street is located) and the northern portion of the shared parking area. Again, library patrons will only be able to utilize the southern portion of the existing library main lot (with access from Court Street) and the Carter House lot.
Beginning Oct. 16, the parking lot construction area will expand to encompass the southern portion of the library parking area. Library patrons should park in the Carter House parking lot until the project is complete. The project completion date is currently estimated to be Oct. 31. This timeline is subject to progress of work.
