PEORIA — There is no construction schedule, yet, for an amphitheater to be built on the Peoria riverfront as the city awaits design plans to be finalized for the project.
The Peoria City Council got an update Tuesday night as it moved to approve a contract with CORE Construction and Terra Engineering for the project. Those two firms were chosen by the Hengst Foundation, which is donating $11 million for amphitheater construction.
Peoria is still waiting for some key answers on how much the project will cost in total — particularly, how much it will cost the city to do any necessary infrastructure work at the site to prepare it for the amphitheater.
The city is awaiting a final design from Terra Engineering that would give it more insight into what kind of infrastructure improvements will be necessary, which the city would be on the hook for. The finalization of a design will also give the city an idea of when construction could begin.
Once Peoria gets an estimate from Terra Engineering on how much money will be necessary for site improvements, a figure will be brought to the City Council for approval, according to City Attorney Patrick Hayes.
City Manager Patrick Urich said the money for any site work would come out of the city’s capital fund, and the council will have to approve the expense.
CORE Construction, too, will give the city an estimate of the maximum costs for construction of the amphitheater once a design is finalized. The Hengst Foundation is supplying the city with $11 million for construction costs. The contracts in place will protect the city, Hayes said, from any possible cost overruns on the construction.
Peoria is not obligated to cover any cost overruns if the project exceeds $11 million outside of the infrastructure improvements at the site.
Last winter the City Council got its first look at the proposed design for the amphitheater, which will be a 5,000-seat venue on the Peoria riverfront in the large, grassy area near the Peoria Riverplex.
The proposed design presented to the council last year was inspired by the Murray Baker Bridge and Peoria’s industrial roots.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Peoria makes move on proposed riverfront amphitheater. Here’s the latest
Reporting by JJ Bullock, Peoria Journal Star / Journal Star
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