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3rd level for Geneva parking deck is a go

The long-awaited third level of Geneva's Third Street parking garage will be built, but exactly when is to be determined.

The city council Monday hired Walsh Construction Co. of Chicago to complete the work for $4.48 million. Walsh, which built the first two levels in 2007, was the lone bidder. A construction start date has not been set.

The garage will be closed during construction. To accommodate the parkers who use it the city plans to rent a lot at First Baptist Church's east campus at 2300 South St., and have a Pace bus shuttle users to the Metra station.

The third level will add 180 spaces, bringing the total to 540.

When the city began planning the garage in 2001, it approved a design with three levels. The top level was sliced from the plan in 2005 due to cost. Metra paid part of the cost.

In 2011, Metra agreed to pay for the additional level. But in 2013, bids came in 33 percent higher than the expected $3.3 million estimate, and the city rejected all the bids. Metra recommended rejecting the bids based on price, and because the low bidder, Walsh, didn't meet Metra's standards for seeking out and using minority- and female-owned subcontractors and workers, according to a letter Metra sent to the city.

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