Palatine moving to repair damaged downtown parking garage
Palatine's insurance carrier is expected to cover most of a projected $310,000 expense to fix a section of a municipal downtown parking garage damaged by a car fire in the summer.
At least 20 first-floor spaces are unavailable at the Gateway Center garage due to the damage caused by the fire. Palatine Village Manager Reid Ottesen said it appeared neither the driver nor a vehicle malfunction were to blame for the suspicious fire. No arrests have been made.
"There's been shoring that's gone up to make sure everything is safe right now," Ottesen said. "It's time for the restoration."
Village council members recently agreed to hire Hoffman Estates-based Walker Consultants to handle engineering duties and prepare construction documents for the repairs. Ottesen said Palatine will pay $50,000 for an insurance deductible, with the carrier covering the balance of the expense.
Walker Consultants already has performed an assessment of the concrete affected by the Aug. 17 car fire. The work included removal of concrete samples for analysis and strength testing.
"Based on the findings from our investigation and subsequent laboratory testing, we have concluded that the fire has significantly affected the structural capacity of one (double T-beam) only," Walker Consultants said in a letter to Palatine officials.
Walker Consultants, which will receive a maximum $25,000 from Palatine for its engineering services, recommended that the beam in question be "cost effectively strengthened in place." Palatine will use parking garage repair and restoration specialist J. Gill and Co. of Tinley Park, as recommended by the engineering firm, to perform the concrete work.
Palatine debuted the five-level, 1,244-space parking deck at Smith and Colfax streets in 2002. The garage, designed by Walker Consultants and located across the street from Palatine's Metra station, cost $15 million and took about 14 months to build.
Officials said poor soil quality led to the garage requiring support from at least 400 pilings. The pilings are 50 to 70 feet deep.