Plans for a visitor center and bathrooms at Lisa Link Peace Park - the humble, often neglected park at State and Gilman streets - are already running over budget.
"The building design as requested by planning staff and urban design commission is yielding a higher cost than budgeted for," says Ald. Mike Verveer, whose district includes the park. "The rest is coming in under budget. We have to figure out a way to make it all work."
The park renovations were budgeted at $650,000, using TIF money; and $350,000 for the visitor center, using privately raised funds. But the building is now projected to cost $450,000, and Verveer says "state TIF law does not allow for any money to be spent on the building."
The city is tweaking the building plans to get the price tag down.
Revisions for the park will do more to stress the "peace" part of its name, Verveer says: "Ever since the park was created, it's really had little indication of the peace movement."
