Greene Square Park transformation set to begin

CEDAR RAPIDS - Work on a $2 million transformation of downtown's Greene Square Park into Greene Square will begin by June 15 after new bids for construction came in at an acceptable level.

On Tuesday, the City Council awarded the construction contract to low bidder Kleiman Construction Inc., which bid $1.736 million for the construction piece of the overall project.

In February, the council rejected bids that came in at about $1.9 million for the work believed to be essential for the park transformation.

Sven Leff, the city's parks and recreation director, said that project engineers were able to find savings without eliminating essentials.

By way of example: The plan had been to remove two feet of soil in the park, and now only one foot of soil will be removed, he said. Walls in particular spots will be 18 inches high and not 30 inches. In addition, the project timeline is now three months shorter, which will cut expense. City crews will take responsibility for planting new trees and flowers rather than having a contractor do the work.

Leff said the project should be complete by Oct. 31. City crews will plant trees in the park in November, he said.

He said the city already has moved the 'Skyblade” sculpture from the park to its new home at the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance.

The Linn County Board of Supervisors has agreed to provide a new sculpture for the park project at a cost of up to $250,000. The city is contributing $650,000 with the rest of the funding coming from private donations.

The renovated, block-square park will feature a wide corridor of lawn with sidewalks on both sides that connects the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art on one side of the park to the Cedar Rapids Public Library on the other

side opposite the museum. The design also includes a water feature and plaza.