Pickering Square garage expansion begins

BANGOR – The $2.7 million expansion of the Pickering Square parking garage began Monday morning with a rumble.

A ceremonial starting of the crane by Bangor Mayor John Rohman officially kicked off the construction, which will add two levels with 174 parking spaces to the five-story downtown garage.

Expansion of the garage, which now has 503 spaces, was needed in part because of increased traffic associated with new business in the downtown, according to city officials.

“It’s reached its capacity,” said city Councilor Dan Tremble, who last summer chaired a committee that reviewed the city’s parking situation. “Between the [Maine Discovery Museum] and the University of Maine art museum that will be coming, there’s a lot going on in this area.”

Much of the construction – expected to be completed in November – will occur from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m., to keep the garage open during the day, according to Parke Clemons, general manager of Republic Parking Systems, which operates the city-owned facility.

Clemons said there would be no jackhammering as part of the night work – expected to begin next month – but a crane would be used to lift concrete support structures to the roof during the overnights.

To prepare the neighborhood for the nighttime construction, city officials have alerted downtown residents and businesses of the work schedule.

Residents of the nearby Freese’s Assisted Living Center have not yet expressed concerns about the nighttime noise, according to the center’s director, Julia Friend.

“I expect we’ll hear some complaints once construction begins,” Friend said Monday.

During the construction, the entrance of the parking garage will be on Broad Street and the city bus will stop on Water Street.

The garage was designed in the late 1980s with the capacity for expansion if needed.

The expansion comes as part of the parking committee’s recommendations, which also increased rates at nearly all of the city’s off-street lots. The new rates, approved by the City Council, are expected to add nearly $76,000 to city coffers.

At Pickering Square, where the first two hours are still free, hourly parking rates increased by 50 cents to $1 and monthly rates increased from $38 to $45. Discounted parking on the garage roof went up from $19 to $25 per month.

The additional floors in the Pickering Square garage are expected to add $84,240 in revenue. Even with the added money, the city’s parking fund is still expected to face a deficit, city officials said.

The price tag of the expansion could approach $3 million when design costs are added, city officials said.