Construction to start soon on parking structure in Coralville development

Another project will be under way soon in Coralville's Iowa River Landing district.

The City Council Tuesday night voted to accept an $11.2 million bid from Knutson Construction Services to construct a parking ramp to serve the area.

The 150-acre Iowa River Landing is south of the Interstate 80-First Avenue interchange. Plans for the area include upscale shopping, entertainment, commercial and residential projects.

Also, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics is building an outpatient clinic there that is expected to serve more than 300,000 patients per year after it opens in fall 2012.

The three-and-a-half-level parking facility will have 770 spaces for the clinic and the surrounding retail and commercial development.

Work will begin in June and is expected to be completed a year later.

Knutson, which has an office in Iowa City, submitted the lowest of four bids for the project.

The council approved two alternates, one for electric-car charging stations and another for a green roof. A proposal for LED lighting was not accepted because of the high cost, but the city will review it with the contractor after construction starts to try to get a more reasonable price, said Dan Holderness, city engineer.

The city's estimate for the project, including the three alternates, was $13.97 million.