The Hoboken Parking Authority has awarded a $14,536,690 contract to low bidder LaRocca Inc. of Jersey City to build the already-approved 740-car Midtown Garage at Fourth and Clinton Streets. The award was made at an Authority meeting last week.
According to Donald Pellicano, Chairman of the Hoboken Parking Authority, LaRocca was the lowest bidder at $14,392,190, followed by Terminal Construction Corporation at $15,071,000 and Fitzpatrick & Associates, Inc. at $15,995,000. Included in the bids were two specific bid alternate items, a three-phase 2,000-amp switch for PSE&G at $19,500, and an additional elevator for $125,000.
The project is a joint venture between the Authority and St. Mary Hospital, both of whom signed a lease agreement on Dec. 21 of last year. St. Mary Hospital donated the land, and the HPA is paying for the construction for the garage. The HPA plans to bond for $15 million.
Under the terms of the agreement, the hospital leases the land to the Authority for 99 years at one dollar a year. St. Mary will lease 300 of the parking spaces for hospital and medical personnel, and operate the ground floor medical office space. The bulk of the remaining 440 spaces will be earmarked for monthly rentals by Hoboken residents.
Mayor Anthony Russo hailed the award as “another example of our commitment to provide additional parking to the residents of Hoboken, as well as support St. Mary Hospital’s expansion of medical services to the community. With the completion of 916 Garden St. underway, and the Midtown project, means we will have added 1,064 new parking spaces to the city’s inventory this year.”
The Authority also announced that Retrotech, Inc. of Victor, New York, the firm selected by the surety bondholder to oversee the completion of the 324-car Automated Parking facility at 916 Garden St., began inspection of the project this past Wednesday and Thursday. They have been entrusted to get the facility operational. It is anticipated that the completion will take about six months, officials said.
Pellicano said that the Authority lost no money on the project because of the existence of the surety bond, which they included as part of the specifications when the job was first bid. Pellicano said that no taxpayer monies were in jeopardy.