Greyhound and Jefferson buses started rolling out of the Martin Luther King Jr. Transportation Center on Feb. 1, with city buses following suit on the Ides of March.
Long-term motorists started parking their vehicles on the upper floor parking ramp in February. On March 15, motorists wanting to park by the hour started parking in the ramp as well. The skywalk between the King Center and the Frances and Orpheum buildings also opened to the public March 15.
The dedication ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. Friday.
"We didn't want to build something that looked like a parking ramp," Dan Jensen, manager of the Sioux City Transit System, said. "We wanted it to fit in with the rest of the buildings as far as its decor is concerned. I think they did a very good job in blending it into the rest of downtown."
Rich Mach, the city's project manager, added, "We wanted to pick up the lighting on the Commerce Building across the street and pick up the terra cotta with brick relief that's on the Warrior Hotel. We did not want to make it look like a parking facility."
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Vintage lights and sidewalks decorate the sidewalk. By spring, plants and flowers will be blooming. Curved glass and uplights on the side of the brick, with other design features, mask the upper floors' true mission as a place to park 480 cars and vehicles.
Mach said there will be 75 seats in the lobby. The lobby features tiles accented in shades of blue and a floor accented with brick red and dark blue. The buses will enter and leave from both Fifth and Sixth streets.
"With the Orpheum Theatre right next store, I envision people parking their cars in the ramp, going to a performance and then grabbing something to eat in one of the restaurants we hope will locate there," Mach said.
Wrapped around the lobby is 8,200 square feet of retail space. No leases for restaurants or stores have been announced, but city officials reportedly are negotiating with several businesses.
Jensen said the King Center provides a more central location for bus passengers than did the transfer point at Third and Pierce streets.
"We believe it will provide better access to public transportation now and in the future. The new facility will provide better access to patrons through the skywalk connection to the city's downtown businesses," he said.
"After hours, it will really benefit Siouxland," Jensen said. "It complements the Orpheum. I believe we would hope this is the start of a trend that continues in the downtown area to keep our city's downtown strong and viable for years to come."
The center also has room for taxicab stands and bicycle racks.
Connections were built for future skywalk connections to the Commerce and Warrior-Davidson buildings.
The $11.6 million multimodal ground transportation center is located in the 500 block of Nebraska Street.
Jensen said the idea for the center began in 1995 with a study. The first federal money was appropriated in 1997. The Federal Transit Administration and the state will pay 73 percent of the construction bill, with the city paying the remaining share.
Jensen said he plans to lease or sell the transfer point building at Third and Pierce streets. Because the transit administration paid for 80 percent of that site, he said the city has to apply the proceeds of that sale or lease to the King Center or other transit operations. Otherwise, the city has to send the money back to Washington, D.C.
The transportation center was one of three components of the city's River's Edge project, which included the Tyson/IBP Events Center and Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center. Last year, the Vision Iowa Board awarded $21 million to the project. Those state dollars are being funneled into the events center project.
Holtze Construction Co. was the general contractor for the transportation center.
