Soon, all eyes will turn to Centennial Plaza and the future transit center. Construction will begin later this month.

Transit Manager Julie Stephens said even though construction might start soon, completion will be delayed until late fall because to construct a restroom off-site requires nearly three months of lead time.

That building, she said, will come to Sandy fully built of prefabricated concrete, including the roof. She expects the building to be lifted with a crane onto its foundation.

As described at a Sandy City Council meeting last month, the completed project will require more money than was estimated.

The original two grants totaled $238,800, and the total expected cost was $266,000. The only bidder on the project was J.P. Contractors of Portland. Community Services Director Nancy Enabnit told the council the contractor is reputable, but the cost has risen to about $285,000.

“What we want in Centennial Plaza are nice amenities that will class-up the center of town,” she told the council. “Some of the (amenities) may have had a hand in putting the cost over the original estimate.”

The difference between grant funding and cost (about $45,000) will be covered by the transit fund, Enabnit said, where there is a contingency for this purpose.

One reason why only one bidder emerged at bid time, according to City Manager Scott Lazenby, is there are a number of disciplines involved (such as electrical, plumbing, masonry, wood, pre-fab, asphalt and concrete), requiring as many different subcontractors.

Small-business local contractors, he said, aren’t used to dealing with as many subs, and probably hesitated to bid.

“(Stephens) called some of the local contractors,” Enabnit told the council, “and they said there were too many different disciplines to roll into their specialties.”

Stephens is proud of the design that incorporates features requested by local residents. The plan also conforms to Sandy Style and matches the design style of the plaza and museum, which are visible nearby.

Included in the transit center’s design is a 16-by-20-foot lighted shelter that has room for a wheelchair, wood added to the existing concrete bench and rock facing (matching the museum) added to the base of the supporting posts. Also nearby is a bike rack for eight bikes.

Stephens used one word to describe the all-concrete restroom building: “indestructible.”

The building will have two rooms — one kept locked for the bus drivers and one for general public use.

Even though the building is nearer the upper-level museum parking lot, there will be no parking there for plaza, transit or restroom visitors. The museum is on private property and does not make allowance for public parking — only during visits to the museum.

Parking is being provided by the city along Hoffman Avenue, on nearby city streets, behind City Hall and in other downtown public parking areas.

Two more light posts will be added to the plaza, and Hoffman Avenue will be widened at each end to allow for wide turns by buses. The street will change direction, becoming a three-lane one-way northbound street — from Pioneer to Proctor. The three lanes include one for car parking, one travel lane for cars and one for bus parking.

“The entire design,” Stephens said, “was an effort to add amenities without detracting from the use of the plaza in other ways.”

The advantages of moving the transit center to the plaza from its current location on McCormick Drive behind Avamere was to shorten the route to Gresham to keep buses on a half-hour time schedule, reduce the number of trips through town for some Mountain Express and Estacada buses and bring bus riders closer to downtown businesses. Also on the plus side of the ledger is maintaining similar operational costs for years into the future.

At the June council meeting, councilors voted unanimously to approve the contract with J.P. Construction.

For more information, call Stephens at 503-489-0925 or Enabnit at 503-668-5569.