Question and Answers to Issues Courthouse Square

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' ' Has the original Courthouse Square project been downsized? No, except for the number of pazking spaces. ' The original concept called for county offices (about 110,000 sq. ft), the bus terminal and transit offices (about 87,740 sq. ft.) including a daycare facility, private commercial shops/offices ' (about 13,000 sq. ft), a roof top garden, and replacement parking. The transit space included a small amount (about 3,500 sq. ft.) for retail that compliments public transportation uses. Hearing and meeting rooms would be shared by Marion County and the Transit District. The formal , request for proposal (RFP) requested a proposal with 250 parking spaces. The proposal by the private developer included more private retail and commercial office ' space. The developer's project proposed two levels of underground parking to help support the added private space envisioned. That additional parking was not required or desired by either ~ Marion County or the Transit District In addition, the Federal Transit Administration expressed concern about the inclusion of more pazking in a development which was intended to encourage greater transit use by employees and clients of the county service center. , In the current design, there is one level of underground pazking. The additional level of parking proposed by the developer was removed because of two factors. The cost to build added ' parking could not be justified by Marion County or the Transit District. In addition, a second level of underground parking might create long term cost for treatrnent of ground water contamination which might leach from adjacent land owners due to its depth. ' The daycare facility and roof gardens have been dropped from the project. The Transit District Board removed the daycare space from the plan at a public meeting in December 1996 ' after it was determined that the public would need to subsidize the space by as much as$15,000 per month. Roof gardens, an architectural suggestion, were removed due to the cost of water- ' proofing the roofs beneath them. In the current design, Marion County has 112,000 square feet. The Transit District has ' 85,000 sq. ft. including 3,500 sq. ft. of transit-related retail space which could be used for a news stand, coffee shop, deli or similar. By removing the daycare proposal from the design, the amount of space available for use actually increased. ' The amount of space allocated to both Marion County and the Transit District is intended to provide for anticipated population growth for the next 25-50 years. In the interim the space , could be leased on the open market and would be placed on the tax rolls if not leased by a public agency. All retail will be on the t~ rolls. ' The current plan would provide for at least 20,000 square feet of space for private commercial / retail development. Under the current plan (as opposed to the original concept), the ' private space would be developed after a response to a request-for-proposal is issued by Marion County and the Transit District for development of the north portion of the block. Any additional parking space requirements are subject to the Salem Downtown Parking District ' regulations. ~