There's a new look to the planned transportation center in downtown Duluth. It's all about blending in.
Duluth Transit Authority director Jim Heilig said the façade of the center will better reflect the historic buildings of Michigan and Superior streets at its Third Avenue site.
Heilig hosted public forums Tuesday on the progress with the $28.9 million project that will enhance the Northwest Passage skywalk to Canal Park, provide more parking and offer better traffic options for buses and people downtown.
Drawings shown in May showed a gleaming metal façade with large windows.
"We changed the scale of the building," Heilig said. "It really had a modern look. We dropped back to make it look more historic. We need to blend in with the neighborhood."
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He said making the building a better fit on a "human scale" was also a driver for the new design.
Exact appearances won't be known until a developer and its architect are in on the process.
The room at the forum Tuesday was filled mostly with prospective builders for the project.
Heilig said a standard environmental review was the last hurdle his team had to submit and he will wait for the federal government's response. He said the new center could break ground by next spring and be at least partially functional by the end of 2013. The construction period is expected to last 16 months.
The building would replace the parking garage connected to the Wells Fargo building. Demolition of that structure could begin by the end of the year, Heilig said.
Part of the facility will be a new parking ramp and drive-up bank window. Heilig said it will provide more parking than is currently found on the site.
The transportation center will include eight bays for bus platforms, an indoor station with seating and restrooms, bike storage, a police station, and space for commercial bus lines.
The project would also improve the skywalk from downtown to the Amsoil Arena and other venues in Canal Park.
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Heilig said those who never use the DTA bus system will find the greatest project impact in a more functional skyway.
Heilig said safety issues drove the push for a new center. Buses now park on Superior Street between the Downtown Transit Center and Holiday Center. There is pedestrian traffic caused by the need to cross Superior in the middle of the street and not at a crosswalk.
Traffic patterns will be changed on Michigan Street with the new center, Heilig said. Stoplights timed for bus traffic will be one feature. He also said there will be more metered parking that is covered. There will be 150 more parking spaces in the area when the project is completed.
The police station will help the department keep a better presence downtown now that the main office has moved to the far western part of the city on Arlington Avenue, Heilig said. It will be about 1,500 square feet and will be the viewing center for the growing network of surveillance cameras on Duluth streets.
