INFORMATION FOR BUSINESSES
The City of Pullman, its consulting team, and our project partners are committed to supporting businesses during the construction phase.
MITIGATING IMPACT TO BUSINESSES
CONSTRUCTION TIMELINE
Project Bidding and Contractor Selection
Pending City of Pullman and Washington State Department of Transportation approval of the 100% completed design, the consulting team will have completed a bid package to issue to contractors this fall. We anticipate advertising and opening bids in the fall of 2023 and having a construction contractor under contract by early February 2024.
Construction Timeline
Once a construction contractor has been hired, and depending on spring weather, we anticipate beginning preliminary demolition to enable construction as soon as mid-April 2024. We anticipate that the project will be substantially complete with roads open to vehicular traffic and sidewalks completed by mid-August 2024, with some features like landscaping to be installed through the fall of 2024. We will have more specific information about construction phasing once a contractor is hired.
MAIN STREET CLOSED TO VEHICULAR TRAFFIC TO EXPEDITE CONSTRUCTION
Main Street Pedestrian Access to Businesses Maintained
We are committed to maintaining pedestrian access on Main Street to businesses through the construction period. Currently, the draft contract instructs the contractor to limit business door access closures to no more than three days to allow for the new sidewalk in front of a business to be formed, poured, and cured. If the contractor needs more than three days to perform this work, they will be required to provide a temporary ADA-compliant access, typically firm wood ramping, to provide customer access to buildings. The specific timeline of pedestrian access modifications will not be determined until a contractor is hired for the project, likely in February 2024.
FREIGHT AND MERCHANDISE DELIVERIES
We will work with each section of downtown to coordinate merchandise deliveries, as well as ensure food delivery services like DoorDash have the necessary access to businesses.
REMOVAL OF AMENITIES IN THE RIGHT OF WAY
Removal of Public and Private Amenities in the Right of Way and on Sidewalks
All sidewalk “furniture” must be removed to expedite demolition and construction. For businesses with privately-owned furniture or amenities on the sidewalk, these items must be removed by 5:00 pm on Monday, May 6, 2024, as the City of Pullman intends to terminate all existing ground leases prior to construction beginning.
We will review the final design for Main Street in front of your business or property when we meet with you in the summer or early fall of 2023 and discuss likely options for re-introducing sidewalk activation for business uses after construction is complete.
PRE-CONSTRUCTION COMMUNICATION
Communication to stakeholders in downtown Pullman will resume in July and continue through August and September 2023, with scheduled one-on-one meetings with business and property owners to review the project design adjacent to their property and share details about the project to ensure businesses have adequate information and time to prepare for construction in 2024 and identify any potential challenges to be managed.
Individual Property/Business Owner Meetings
Please schedule your meeting with our team by 5:00 pm on August 21. A checklist of discussion points will be provided for your consideration in advance of our meeting so that we can make the most of our time together.
CONSTRUCTION COMMUNICATION (APRIL - SEPTEMBER 2024)
PRESS RELEASE AND NEWSLETTER
WELCH COMER STAFF ON SITE DAILY
EMAIL, PHONE, OR TEXTS AS NEEDED
LANDLORDS COMMUNICATE WITH RESIDENTIAL TENANTS
Construction Communications Plan to be Finalized in February 2024
We are committed to communicating with property and business owners during the construction project. A final construction phase communications plan will be provided to you in late February 2024.
Generally, during the construction phase, you should expect press releases and a bi-monthly newsletter announcing updates to project phasing. These press releases will originate from the City of Pullman and be shared by the Downtown Pullman Association and Pullman Chamber of Commerce. If you haven’t already, we recommend “Liking” and “Following” these organizations on social media.
During construction, Welch Comer Engineers will have staff on-site each day to liaise between the contractor, property owners and business owners.
During construction, property and business owners should also anticipate drop-in visits from our staff, and email, phone, or text communication about site-specific construction coordination.
While we continue to build relationships and communication contacts with downtown business and property owners, we are depending on property owners with residential tenants to communicate with their own tenants. We suggest that you invite downtown residents to also sign up to receive updates about Project Downtown Pullman.