The city of Jacksonville is taking preliminary steps to repair and perform maintenance work on two city-owned parking garages in Downtown.
On Jan. 8, the Mayor’s Budget Review Committee approved budget transfers to fund design work for repairs to the Edward Ball Building parking garage and a structural checkup for the Duval Street garage near the Main Library.
The $84,651 in transfers come from the Office of Public Parking to the Public Works Department for parking garage maintenance. For both garages, the funding would also be used to obtain preliminary cost estimates for repairs and maintenance work.
For the Ed Ball garage, a $41,451 transfer would fund engineering services such as a review of structural studies and blueprints, and creation of a plan for waterproofing and repairs on the seven levels of the structure.
The remaining $43,200 of the transfers would fund a top-to-bottom visual inspection of the Duval Street garage project to look for cracking, spalling (chipping), moisture damage, exposed steel reinforcement and other signs of deterioration or damage.
The integrity of Downtown parking garages drew increased public attention after a partial collapse of the garage at Ascension St. Vincent’s Riverside Hospital on Sept. 12, 2023.