Kenosha---A raze order was issued last week for the city's only downtown parking ramp just as Mayor Antaramian was launching the push for a new, public parking structure.
But don't look for the wrecking ball anytime soon. Or, for that matter, the new construction.
Seven months ago, city officials ordered closed the ramp that's just north of the tall bank building on 57th St.
Both the city and the owner, Paul McDonough, agree that serious deficiencies in the structure exist, but so far they disagree on the cost of the repairs.
McDonough's preliminary estimate is in the neighborhood of $150,000, but a new figure from a contractor hired by the city puts it at $330,000. Because the estimate is more than half of the value of the structure, the city delivered the raze notice, according to City Administrator Frank Pacetti.
While McDonough was taken aback by the development, Pacetti says he was simply following city ordinances. The order does not preclude continued dialogue.
McDonough says he hopes to receive a more detailed cost estimate within the next couple of weeks, and that the goal is to have the ramp repaired by the onset of winter. Tenants in his bank building depend on the ramp.
Mayor Antaramian's proposed parking structure would be built on vacant land a block west of McDonough's. No timetable has been offered for the new ramp which has been identified as a key component of downtown redevelopment.
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