Rise & Revitalize Downtown Construction Update May 27, 2009

West Lincoln Highway to Be Resurfaced

Project Area:

Lincoln Highway/IL Rt 38 from 4th Street to Stadium Drive

Project Scope:
Mill and resurface of the highway. At least 1 lane of traffic will remain open in each direction throughout the project.

*Estimated Timeline:

Completion date is likely to be late fall 2009.



2nd and 3rd Street Project UPDATE

April - Locust & Third (Water Main) COMPLETE

• Closure on Locust from 3rd to 4th


• Will last approximately 1 month


• 3rd street will remain open
  
• Vehicular access will be open to locations between 4th and the entrance to the Monat building on Locust Street.

May - 3rd Street by NB&T (Water Main) COMPLETE

• Closure from Palmer to Locust
• Could last approximately 1 month
• Palmer Ct. will remain open and 3rd from Lincoln to Palmer will remain open
• Reverse Palmer Ct. one-way to allow for traffic flow out of 3rd Street.
• No blocking of Palmer will be allowed
• NB&T Bank drive thru will remain open, but exit will be reconfigured

June-Corner of 3rd and E. Lincoln Hwy (Sanitary) COMPLETE

• Limited pedestrian access on east side of street
• Pedestrian access would be open on West side by the House and then when the East side is done the West side will close.
• Closure from Lincoln Hwy to Palmer Ct.
• Could last approximately 1 month

July/August NOW JUNE/JULY-Curb and gutter 3rd then 2nd UNDERWAY

• Parking will be obstructed
• Fencing and door ramps will be required
• Possible spot closures at time for crosswalk work, etc.
• Small storm sewer will need to be repaired at corner of 2nd and Locust St. that will involve a one lane closure at times.

September NOW AUGUST-2nd and 3rd sidewalk and landscaping

• Parking will be obstructed at times
• Fencing and door ramps will be required
• Possible spot closures at times for crosswalk work, etc.

September/October-remaining sidewalk and landscaping throughout project area

• Resurface of 2nd and 3rd Streets

Outdoor Cafes

Project Scope:

Three outdoor cafes have been added to the 2nd and 3rd streetscape project. The construction of the cafes will take place during the sidewalk improvements portion of the project. The cafes will be enclosed areas adjacent to the businesses. Food and alcohol will be allowed to be served in these areas. Adjacent parking spaces will be removed to create each cafe.

Locations/Parking:

Please note at the patio locations some adjacent parking spaces will be removed. Some of those spaces include 15 minute spaces. The City of DeKalb will also be working to convert other 15 minute parking spaces in the immediate area to long term parking to help off-set parking loss.

• Hillside (1 parking space removed)
• Eduardo's on S. Second Street (4 parking spaces removed on 2nd St.)
• O'Leary's on S. Third Street (3 parking spaces removed on 3rd St., with motorcycle spaces being created and 1 parallel space in lieu)

Total current parking on 2nd and 3rd = 76 spaces

Total loss of vehicular spaces for patios = 6

Gain of 3 motorcycle spaces = 3

Pedestrian Pass Thru

Bid in late June, award in July with completion by Thanksgiving 2009.

East Lincoln Highway

Project Area:

East Lincoln Highway from 4th to 11th Street

• Kiwanis Park, 11th and East Lincoln -Gazebo/Welcome Feature
• 10th Street at Lincoln Highway Monument
• 6th Street streetscape
• Pocket Park on East Lincoln by Munson's Insurance
• Decorative street light poles on East Lincoln, 4th Street to 8th Street

Project Update:

• Bump-out curbs COMPLETE
• Electrical conduits underground and lighting bases COMPLETE
• Much of landscape platings around islands COMPLETE
• By June 30th all completion expected, with poles previously delivered required factor alteration and delay in setting until June
• Brick work expected in June at park by Munson's and all bump-outs
• Precast stone monuments at 10th Street and park by Munson's are delivered and will be set within two weeks.
• Aluminum planter towers being manufactured for setting before the end of June

*Information is subject to change based on project needs. Property/business owners will be notified of all major changes to this schedule and will be notified of regular process through regular construction update meetings, email notifications and website updates at www.renewdekalb.com.

3rd Street is OPEN

Going Green

The Van Buer Plaza

The Van Buer Plaza has gone green this week with the installation of the landscaping. Several trees, bushes and perennials have been installed making the plaza a truly beautiful spot. This Saturday The DeKalb County master Gardeners will be doing their annual planting of the downtown planters and the hanging baskets will be placed along Lincoln Highway all in time for the Community Memorial Day Parade.

Construction Rise and Revitalize
While blogs are great for keeping everyone informed we are planning a special Rise and Revitalize next week May 27 at 8:30 a.m. at Tapalaluna to discuss the progress, updates and answer questions about ALL the construction. The project is going well and communication has been key. We hope you will join us at the meeting for an in person update!

3rd Street Happenings
Things have been busy on Third Street as well this week. The water main will be finishing up this week now that everyone is tied into the new system.
Storm and sanitary work is also underway and should be wrapped up by this weekend.
We are still planning to open Third St. to vehicular traffic from East Lincoln Hwy on May 26th , but it may be towards the end of the day. The construction fence will be going up sometime this week along Third St. in preparation for the curb and gutter work that will begin soon.

2nd Street Work
With the completion of infrastructure improvements and the start of curb and gutter removal on 3rd St. that means work will soon head over to 2nd St. Curb and gutter removal work should begin around the first full week in June, but we will post more when we get definite dates. A construction fence will also go up down the middle of the sidewalk on the west side of 2nd Street while the curb and gutters are removed and replaced.

East Lincoln Hwy. (4th – 11th)
Things are really progressing on this project. Bases for the monument and landscape pedestals have gone in along with precast walls. The pocket park next to Musnon’s insurance is coming along well and the bases for the new lights are installed...now we just have to wait for the lights to arrive! All work is expected to be done on this project by the end of May or early June, with the exception of the gazebo at 11th Street and possibly the installation of the new light poles.


Outdoor Patios
Looks like a beautiful week to enjoy an outdoor dining area. Plans are being made to add three new outdoor patio’s to existing restaurants on 2nd and 3rd Streets. 1-2 parking spaces will have to be removed directly in front of the businesses to accommodate the patios and sidewalk width. More information on this project will be presented at the Construction Rise and Revitalize meeting on Wednesday, May, 27 at Tapalaluna at 8:30 a.m.

As always, if you have questions please contact Mike Bauling at the City of DeKalb Engineering Department at 815-748-2030 or Jennifer Groce at Re:New DeKalb at 815-748-7788.

We Are Making Progress!

This will be a VERY busy week on 3rd Street and in Palmer Court, but we are making great progress. Here is a quick rundown of where we are and what to expect the next few weeks:

THIRD STREET UPDATE

- Fencing
The construction fence that will go down the middle of the sidewalk on both the east and west sides of Third Street will be arriving on Wednesday, May 13. Pedestrians will be able to access Third via Lincoln Highway, Palmer and Locust.

- Water main
The new water main is in and nearly complete. Now all the buildings need to be connected to the new service. On Monday, May 18 all buildings on North Third from Lincoln Highway to Oak Street will be without water service for approximately five hours starting at 6 a.m.  The City of DeKalb will be posting notices on all buildings including the residences that will be effected.

- Third Street to Reopen on May 26!!!
Third Street will reopen for one lane of vehicular traffic starting on Tuesday, May 26 and as always the sidewalks will be open to pedestrians. There will be NO on street parking at first while we are working on grading for the new curb and gutters, but cars and pedestrians can travel down the streets.  During this time we continue to stress that ALL employees should be utilizing the 12 hour lots north of Locust or south of Lincoln Highway. Employees should not park on Locust as this will be the closest parking for customers.

- Accessing Third from Palmer Court
Cars will be able to access Third Street from Palmer Court later this week once the work on the manhole at the intersection of Palmer and Third is completed.

PALMER COURT & THE VAN BUER PLAZA UPDATE –
                 
- Palmer Court Access
Palmer Court’s entrance at 2nd Street will be closed thru Thursday, May 14. Vehicles can still access Palmer Court through Van Buer Plaza.

- Van Buer Plaza & Palmer Court Closure
The Van Buer Plaza and Palmer Court will be closed on Thursday, May 14 for brick work. The Plaza and Palmer Court will reopen as soon as the brick work is completed.

- Landscaping
The final landscaping will be arriving later this week for the Van Buer Plaza.

3rd Street to Close May 11, 2009

Locust Street Opening Friday May 8 and
Third Street to Close Monday, May 11

Locust Street will reopen just in time for Mother’s Day and NIU Graduation weekend starting Friday, May 8.
The water main work on 3rd Street will be completed soon and that means work will begin on the sanitary line. Third Street will be closed from Lincoln Highway to Palmer Court for approximately 1 month. Palmer Court will remain open and vehicles can exit on to Third and then head east or westbound on Locust.

Once the sanitary line is repaired work on the curb, gutter and sidewalks on Third will begin.

We will be updating the overall schedule once we know how the sanitary line is progressing.

Moving Right Along....

Things are really moving along this week. The water main work has moved from Locust to Third Street. Locust Street will be reopened this weekend just in time for Mother’s Day and NIU Graduation.

The water main work on Third St. is expected to be completed near the end of next week. Third St. had been expected to close from Palmer Ct. to Locust St., but with the change in the water main location they have been able to keep it open to one lane

However, Third St. will close from Lincoln Highway to Palmer sometime during the week of May 11 for the start of the sanitary line. This work will take approximately three weeks. Third St. will remain open from Palmer to Locust allowing vehicles to exit Palmer on to Third. The bank drive thru at NB&T will remain open!

As a reminder NO employees should be parking on Third Street. This is reserved for CUSTOMERS ONLY!

Once the water main and sanitary line are completed work on the sidewalks will begin on Third. More details will posted as we get closer.

Please feel free to contact Mike Bauling at City of DeKalb Engineering Department at 815-748-2030 or Jennifer Groce at Re:New DeKalb at

815-748-7788 with questions or concerns.