New parking lot slated for old water plant site
Dec. 8—A potential new event center may be in the works for Logansport at a piece of land that used to house Logansport Utilities' old water plant.
The Logansport City Council passed the second reading of an ordinance to create a parking lot at the site, which is located at Riverside Park, on Monday evening. Bill Cuppy, president of the Logansport Cass County Chamber of Commerce and the Cass Logansport Economic Development Organization, said there are no formal plans for the event center at this time but stated that it is important to address parking in the area before constructing another building.
"Our park gets used a lot," he said. "We have events; we have the carousel; we have other things down there that need parking. It's hard to get parking at times, so this is a dual thing we're looking at. We're looking at the parking lot to help the public when they go to the park, and with any new development that goes at this location, you have parking requirements for whatever you're going to put there. If you don't have those requirements, you're going to have a hard time opening something. An event center is ideal, but we need parking."
There is a lot of work to do before any construction can begin at the site. According to Cuppy, no one effectively owns the land at this point in time because it is in the process of being deeded to the Logansport Redevelopment Commission from Logansport Utilities. Once the land is officially owned by the LRC, the commission will need to have two surveys completed and go through a request for proposal process with contractors.
The parking lot is expected to have about 150 parking spots. Cuppy told the council that the current $1 million price tag was estimated by engineers, but he said the price will be more certain after proposals are submitted by contractors.
"It will be north of $1 million just for the parking," he said.
Some council members questioned the price and the necessity of building the parking lot before making concrete plans about what to put on the land. Cuppy said having the parking lot in place will make it easier to find developers to build the event center at the site and will also be beneficial for Riverside Park.
"I know parking is needed, but 150 spaces for $1 million?" Don't you think that's a little high?" Council Member Scott Peattie asked Cuppy.
Cuppy responded that he is not an expert, but the price seems in line with what he was expecting. He added that the small parking lot next to Science Project Brewing Company with only a handful of spaces cost about $75,000 to construct.
Cuppy expects to receive request for proposals from contractors before the end of December. He said the parking should be completed by early spring.
The ordinance passed 4-2, with council members Larry Hood and Carl McPherson voting "no." Council Member Jonathan Nelms was absent and did not vote.
"We're moving forward," Cuppy said. "As soon as the ground thaws out and Central Paving opens back up, then we plan to have a parking lot there."
