PORTAGE, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — The Portage City Council has approved the construction of their new Martin Luther King Park but were concerned by the high cost, and that staff only got one bid for the project.
The Park honoring the slain civil rights leader will be constructed at Constitution Boulevard and King Drive at a cost of $475,000.
It will feature shade trees, a fountain and 5 sculptures by local artist Brent Harris.
Portage Parks Director Kathleen Hoyle said they expected to spend about $285,000, but the pandemic and the resulting labor and material’s shortage sent the price soaring. She says they contacted over 870 firms for bids and only Balkema Construction responded, way over their estimate.
“All of them are coming in at two to three, sometimes four times higher than what our engineering estimates are,” said Hoyle. She went onto say that supply chain issues are impacting construction projects nationwide, but that they did get grants of $90,000 to help offset some of that which they already anticipated was going to be an increase.
Hoyle said also that they have put at least one other project on hold, and are having to rebid a lot of their other contracted work, hoping for more reasonable bids.
The plan is to have the half-acre park completed by this fall.
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