ROCHESTER, Minn. –The troubled parking Ramp 6 downtown was closed for further structural analysis and repairs. The closure. is indefinite, said Wendy Turri, city public works director. “Pursuant to continued evaluation, we will be working with a contractor to complete work on Ramp 6. We will communicate when it will reopen.” The architecturally stunning 630-stall ramp, which has a riverside railroad spur passing through the bottom floor, is the subject of a lawsuit against the design company Collaborative Design Group of Minneapolis. The city had specified that the six-story ramp be designed to later accommodate several additional upper floors of apartments but then learned that the footings were insufficient for the added weight. The city spent $31 million to build the ramp, which opened in March 2019. The to-be-added later apartment floors were budgeted at an additional $39 million.
A train runs through. This is how city planners envisioned Ramp 6 after apartment levels were added atop.