ASHLAND — The goal was to finish the public restrooms by this weekend for the annual Ashland Downtown Dream Cruise and Car Show.
But now, the four-stall restrooms next to Foundation Plaza are slated for an early August completion, said Ashland Mayor Matt Miller.
Crews began work on the $120,000 project in May. The brick facility will include two handicap-accessible bathrooms for both males and females. Each restroom will also have a changing station.
The setback is due to waiting for frosted windows. Miller said the original design called for small windows placed toward the the roof line.
“It was going to be the standard kind of windows you see at like a campsite,” he said. “I asked them instead to install three full-size windows that face Foundation Plaza, and we asked for frosted windows.”
He said the change will improve lighting and improve the overall aesthetic. The mayor expects the windows to arrive next week.
Miller said the change could result in a cost increase.
“But it’ll be minimal,” he said.
The project brings the first public restrooms to Ashland’s downtown area, and it’s a welcomed amenity, Ashland Main Street’s Sandra Tunnell said.
The bathroom facility will be open daily during daytime hours, and is situated on a city-owned parking lot between Foundation Plaza and Premier Bank. Its footprint means the parking lot will lose three spaces.
But the mayor pointed to the imminent addition of parking spaces with the demolition of a maintenance building formerly owned by the Ashland City School District. The city closed on the $75,000 building in June.
The plan is to demolish the building and build a parking lot in its place. First, the city needs to hire a firm to find out if it has asbestos.
“Once that’s complete, we’ll remove the asbestos if it’s found. And then we’ll be able to demolish,” he said.
The city has not hired a firm for an asbestos study.