by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
Within the next year, there will be over 1,400 new public parking spaces in the sports complex. After much debate and many delays, the MPS Group began work on three new parking garages in the downtown area. Two will be in the sports complex and another will be in the central business district.
Demolition work began on April 20 on Lot S — the lot directly south and attached to the arena — with a completion date of March of next year. The new lot will have 473 regular and nine handicap spaces. The other garage will be where Lots T and U are located and will have 866 regular spaces and 66 handicap spaces. The Haskell Group has partnered with MPS in the design and construction of all three garages.
“There will be a net gain of 1,416 new public parking spaces in the sports complex,” said Michael Munz, spokesperson for Metropolitan Parking Solutions. “That’s what everyone is excited about.”
The third garage will have over 1,000 spaces and will be located near the site of the new county courthouse and construction will start near the first of the year. All of the garages were a much-debated topic that City Council and MPS batted back and forth for years. Munz believes the agreement bodes well for both the City and MPS.
“It’s a public/private partnership in the sense that the City will share in the revenue,” he said. “It’s private in the sense that MPS assumes all the risk. They are doing the design, the construction and the maintenance. They will be privately held and MPS will pay property taxes.”
Downtown Development Authority chairman Bob Rhodes said he’s pleased the garages are finally coming out of the ground. He’s also happy to see that the almost 2,500 new spaces is what the parking task force, which he chaired, recommended a few years ago.
“The garages have certainly been through the public policy journey,” said Rhodes. “I am delighted they are finally getting going. I am also glad they are building parking structures instead of surface lots.”
Nan Coyle, the marketing director for SMG, the company that manages the arena, baseball park and Alltel Stadium, said the work will temporarily displace parking for the arena’s suite holders.
“We will move them across the street. They will still have parking,” said Coyle. “We knew this was coming. It’s been in City Council for years.”
The beginning of construction marks the end of the parking garage controversy. At one point, Council was on the verge of approving an incentive package that would have put most of the cost on the City. That incentive plan was pulled in favor of a deal that allows the City to foot some of the bill and share parking revenues. Munz said the whole deal works out well for both.
“The City is not out a penny,” said Munz. “If they had done the garages themselves, they would have cost $32 million. Now, the City’s cost is $18.2 million and the whole project is $50 million. MPS is responsible for any cost overruns.”
Munz also said MPS is working on a plan that would assure the garages are available for public use during the game and for patrons during events.
Another issue that has to be addressed soon is the City’s tree ordinance — all three lots have several large oak trees and other trees. Most, if not all, of the trees are slated to come down. According to the City’s tree ordinance, those trees must either be moved and replanted or MPS will have to contribute to the tree mitigation trust fund. The amount they contribute will depend on the size of the trees.
“We have committed to the City that we will move and transplant as many as possible,” said Munz. “If we have to take them down, we will certainly pay into the tree mitigation fund. We intend to follow the rules like anyone else would have to. We have the moral obligation to do everything we can to save the trees or pay into the fund.”