December 16, 2015

Pioneer Square pergola RFQ due soon

Photo by Mary Randlett [enlarge]

A $2 million restoration project is in store for Pioneer Square's second-most-famous pergola.

The pergola at the Washington Street Boat Landing was hauled away in 2014 in preparation for replacing the Elliott Bay seawall. Part of the 95-year-old pergola rested on the aging seawall at South Washington Street.

The neighborhood's better-known and more accident-prone pergola still stands — barring another truck mishap or Seahawks Super Bowl victory — at First Avenue and Yesler Way.

The Seattle Department of Transportation has been storing the Washington Street pergola in a tent on Port of Seattle property at Terminal 25.

The city wants to hire a design-build team to restore and transfer the pergola, and will issue a request for qualifications in January.

A public notice published in the DJC Dec. 4 said the city is looking for a “skilled, experienced team” to lead the restoration. Parsons is the city's consultant.

Work would include a mix of steel fabrication, cast-iron restoration, large structure movement, and rough and finish carpentry.

The city hopes to select a design-build team this spring. The expected contract amount is $1.8 million to $2.3 million.

Jeff Lundstrom, a project manager for the city, said the restoration must meet requirements of the U.S. Department of the Interior and Pioneer Square Preservation Board.

The pergola is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was designed by city architect D.R. Huntington and has served as a public boat landing, a headquarters for the Harbor Patrol, and as a landing for naval boats. It was also used by the Port of Seattle as a landing for crews of anchored civilian ships.

The National Register nomination form describes it as Pioneer Square's only remaining link with the historic waterfront.

The city wants the structure to be returned to its place in the third quarter of 2017.

Lundstrom said that seawall work at the site is finished. But Seattle Tunnel Partners crews are still using Alaskan Way South as a staging area for the state Route 99 project, so the city plans to wait for heavy overhead equipment such as cranes to be removed before returning the pergola.