TRAVERSE CITY — Start the bidding.
Traverse City is accepting bids for the renovation of its bayfront Clinch Park, part of a years-long effort to redesign the former zoo site. The city will receive sealed bids until July 27 at 10 a.m. for the project's first phase, which includes building and site demotion, construction of water and play areas, landscaping and shoreline upgrades.
The city commission could consider accepting a bid at its Aug. 6 meeting, with construction beginning after Labor Day.
The city raised about $2.6 million for the project, including grant and government funding. Construction of a bathhouse and improvements to the southern entrance of a Cass Street tunnel under Grandview Parkway will be bid separately.
A handful of local and downstate construction companies already requested plans that include information about the project, said Missy Luick, a city planning and engineering assistant. An optional meeting for potential bidders to ask questions will be held July 9 at 11 a.m. at the Governmental Center.
Rerouting the bike trail so it no longer divides the park from the beach is among improvements heralded by project designer Lori Singleton, of Detroit-based consultants Hamilton Anderson Associates. The new route will allow the trail to meander "through the park for a longer period of time" and separate walkers from faster moving cyclists, she said.
"We wanted to make it part of the park experience," she said, of the trail's relocation.
A sculpture depicting a child riding a bike also will be moved from its present spot to the park's western edge so it's spotted as one enters the park, Singleton said. The reworked trail will pass by the sculpture's new site.
The new placement should make the sculpture, commissioned by TART Trails, "more visible," said Pam Darling, the trail group's development director.
"We think it's a good design," she said, of the plans.
The roughly four-acre park also will include a kayak launch with a hydraulic lift to improve accessibility, terraces and big, flat stone along the water to allow visitors to get closer to the water.
"The first and foremost priority of the design is to recognize the importance of the bay to the park," Singleton said.
The city wants to complete the Clinch Park work, including the bathhouse and concession building, by Memorial Day.
Region
Related Photos
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Bicyclists pedal past the sculpture, "Time to Let Go," by Verna Bartnick onTuesday at Clinch Park in Traverse City. Construction at Clinch Park, which would result in the sculpture being moved to the west side of the park, is expected to begin after Labor Day. Record-Eagle/Keith King
City seeks bids for Clinch Park redesign
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