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Coos Bay urban renewal agency approves $332,948 contract for Front Street final design
Summary
The Coos Bay Urban Renewal Agency approved a professional services agreement with David Evans and Associates to complete final design for the Front Street project (Cedar to Fir) for an amount not to exceed $332,948, after councilors debated community input, historic design standards and the possibility of future rail removal.
The Coos Bay Urban Renewal Agency approved a professional services agreement with David Evans and Associates to complete final design and construction-ready specifications for Front Street between Cedar and Fir avenues for an amount not to exceed $332,948.
The agency relied on work done under the 2022 Front Street Blueprint and a 30% design prepared in 2023. Agency staff told the board that the blueprint provided conceptual direction — multimodal transportation, wayfinding, parking and waterfront improvements — but that construction requires complete design documents, easement agreements and technical specifications. “The blueprint’s just conceptual. We have to work through any land trades and swaps. We have to work through easements with the port and the rail, as well as ODOT rail. And then we have to prepare construction level designs and technical specifications in order to construct it, to put it out to bid and construct it,” said Jennifer, a city staff member.
Supporters of moving to final design said finishing the construction documents now would allow the city to bid and build when approvals and funding are in place. Others urged caution because the project depends on rail and port coordination and because some councilors expect the rail line through Front Street may be removed in the future. “I do, in my crystal ball, foresee a future where there is no rail line running through Front Street...it is a significant amount of money. My concern is just that we go through another design phase to then just have to come back again,” said a council member during the discussion.
Staff said the design effort is budgeted in the agency’s current budget and noted that David Evans and Associates (DEA) prepared the blueprint and the earlier 30% plans, making the firm familiar with the project’s assumptions and constraints. Agency staff also said the city’s procurement rules allow the agency to directly appoint DEA for the final-design work. Representatives from DEA — Maureen White and Jim Henke — attended the meeting but did not speak at length in the recorded transcript.
Councilors also asked about design constraints and historic character. Staff said downtown zoning requirements include the area’s historic lighting standard and that many design concepts were vetted during the blueprint phase and in public town-hall meetings that included council participation.
The motion to approve the professional services agreement — described in the staff report as a fee not to exceed $332,948 — carried after a motion, a second and a voice vote. The meeting then adjourned.
The approved work covers final design and specifications for the northern half of the Front Street study area (Cedar to Fir). The project will require coordination with the Port of Coos Bay, rail operators and the Oregon Department of Transportation rail division on easements and property trades before construction can proceed.
