Commission authorizes HWC engineering contract and temporary Midtown parking licenses

The Redevelopment Commission authorized staff to negotiate and enter a contract with HWC Engineering to scope placemaking and design work along the Old Meridian corridor between City Center and Main Street, and approved license agreements to create temporary public parking lots in Midtown while the Midtown North (Allied Solutions) garage undergoes floor-by-floor maintenance.

Mr. Lee said the HWC scope will be led by the city’s engineering department and chief infrastructure officer with CRC staff assisting. The work is fundamentally a scoping exercise to identify place-making opportunities related to horizontal infrastructure such as roads and streetscape improvements.

Regarding temporary parking, the commission approved month-to-month license agreements for two lots—one already owned by the CRC and another parcel—so the CRC can add temporary parking capacity while Allied Solutions performs updates on the Midtown North garage that may take floors offline. Staff said the agreements allow temporary improvements to support overflow parking and are expected to be temporary. The commission voted aye on both actions by roll call (President Hammer; Vice President Bowers; Secretary Brooks; Commissioner Shalio; Councilor Austin).

Why it matters: the HWC scope could identify near-term street and public-space improvements in an active redevelopment corridor; the parking licenses are a near-term operational step to maintain parking capacity during garage maintenance.