# City Commission Meeting

The City of Birmingham, Michigan, Commission meeting on October 6, 2026, included a workshop on potential public-private partnerships (P3s) for city-owned properties. Consultant Doug Smith presented a case study of the Pier Street parking structure: replacing its 706 public spaces while adding housing was found financially infeasible under the modeled assumptions, and greater building height could improve feasibility but raised concerns about scale and zoning. Commissioners discussed defining and prioritizing public benefits, reducing political uncertainty, and preparing an asset-by-asset P3 playbook before issuing any RFP. Parking replacement, development constraints, public access to the river, and possible uses of the Willits surface lot and Lot 6 were discussed; the commission gave no formal approval for an RFP or project, though members favored further modeling of the Willits lot. A parking study is underway, and no contract award or procurement vote was identified.

The commission also reviewed the Baldwin Public Library’s annual report. Members noted that an RFP for loading-area construction work had received responses, but no vendor had been selected; staff discussed the possibility of holding funds with a purchase order if an awarded project could not proceed because of weather. The annual report was approved unanimously, not a construction contract. The commission received resident-priority survey results from Cobalt Community Research, including feedback on roads, transportation, pedestrian safety, parks, and spending, with no action requested on the survey.

**Jurisdictions:** sled
**Industries:** Construction & Infrastructure, Transportation
**Topics:** Physical Infrastructure
**Published:** October 06, 2026

### Sources
- [City Commission Meeting](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjsLVgPeq-c) - City of Birmingham, MI