LUCERNE — Plans for a Third Avenue plaza in Lucerne are undergoing construction cuts this week to reduce the cost to the Lake County Redevelopment Agency (RDA). The Lucerne plaza is one of three redevelopment projects that may begin construction this summer, according to RDA assistant director Eric Seely.
The cuts are part of the final steps in the design process before a request for proposals (RFP) goes out in about a month, according to Seely. The Third Avenue Plaza is one of the agency”s redevelopment projects planned for the Northshore, the agency”s only project area in Lake County. The redevelopment area includes Upper Lake, Nice, Lucerne, Glenhaven and Clearlake Oaks.
“I”ve had to cut about $1 million out of the budget this week,” Seely said Thursday. The Rockland engineering firm Foothill and Associates submitted cost estimates that were well over the agency”s $1.3 million budget for the plaza, he said.
Shown on the conceptual design are a parking area, a 120-foot long pier, two shade structures, open grassy area, and a short stone wall around the perimeter.
Amenities on the chopping block include parking, a shade structure on the pier and an ornate railing style for the pier.
“Because these are just estimates, there still might be something we could do to not have to scratch it (the amenities). We could have it as an additive alternative. If the base bids are below the budgeted amount, we could then award the base bid plus an additive alternative. So those things are not gone yet, but there are cost concerns,” Seely said.
Definite cut include a shade structure near the entrance to the pier and the stone wall, Seely said.
The RDA expects to hear back from the California Wildlife Conservation Board in May regarding its application for a $470,000 grant to construct the pier. The grant is part of the agency”s budget for the Lucerne plaza project.
“By the end of May, we should know if have funding for the pier. Without that funding, we won”t be able to construct the pier, just the improvements on land,” Seely said.
“The big projects we have planned for this summer are the Third Avenue Plaza, the Clearlake Oaks Plaza and the Upper Lake Main Street reconstruction. And they are all right about at the same point, where plans are being finalized. If the bids come close to the cost estimates and we have the funding, then we can proceed with construction,” Seely said.
“For the Upper Lake Main Street reconstruction, it”s more than road work. It”s sidewalks, streetlights and streetscape, which is planting trees, from Highway 20 to Second Street. We haven”t got an engineering cost, but we have $2 million budgeted for the Upper Lake reconstruction,” Seely said.
Cost estimates for the Clearlake Oaks Plaza appear to be on target with the project”s more than $1.3 million budget, according to Seely.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com.
