Alcoa will pay $1.2 million for stormwater infrastructure off Faraday Street, setting the stage to open an interior section of the Springbrook Farm development.
The scheduled work will begin immediately and allow construction on the Werner Avenue corridor to continue.
It also enables installations like the anticipated Alcoa Costco location.
“We’re going to put in this stormwater infrastructure and then immediately following, probably in an April or May timeframe, the actual Werner Avenue roadway project should begin,” Gentry said.
City officials awarded the bid to Blount Excavating, the only bidder, during a Dec. 9 Board of Commissioners meeting. Dakota Gentry, an engineer for Alcoa Development Services, said construction is anticipated to begin mid-January and last through late April. City staff said construction should have minimal impact on pedestrians and traffic.
The planned work on Werner Avenue, Gentry said, will funnel water to Pistol Creek. It will carry the majority of water from the Springbrook Farm development, which city officials have long planned as a downtown area for Alcoa.
It also lays the groundwork for additional developments. In October, Alcoa announced plans to partner with developer RealtyLink to bring a Costco store to Springbrook Farm. To do that, they’ll need roads, traffic management, and other improvements.
This project installs manholes, inlets and other stormwater management systems.
Although the Springbrook Farm site is designated a brownfield, Gentry said the city does not anticipate any issues and keeps an environmental consultant on hand anyway.
City staff are currently working on plans for the next phase of development.