City Council unanimously approved an agreement Feb. 25 to sell a city-owned lot to VyStar Credit Union to build a Downtown parking garage.
Ordinance 2020-73 approved the sale of the 0.77-acre property at Main and Forsyth streets to the credit union for $943,403.
The proposed Main and Forsyth parking structure was part of Barnett Tower LLC’s lease agreement with the city before the Downtown Investment Authority board voted in September to terminate the garage portion of the Barnett contract.
The developer of the historic Barnett National Bank Building and the companion Laura Street Trio project missed its deadline to complete the garage and is renegotiating its agreement with the Downtown Investment Authority.
The sale price in the VyStar agreement is the same as the Barnett deal.
The garage will support the 1,000 employees VyStar is moving Downtown. The credit union is relocating its headquarters to the 23-story tower at 76 S. Laura St it bought in July 2018 for $59 million. VyStar also purchased an adjacent parking garage.
VyStar also is renovating a seven-story building it bought next door at 100 W. Bay St. that it intends to occupy by midyear.
As part of the terms of the agreement, VyStar will build a minimum 550-space parking garage and lease up to 250 of those spaces to the DIA at $100 per space, per month. The city will have 24-hour access to the garage.
An amendment to the bill removes a provision that requires a minimum number of leased parking spaces.
The agreement says VyStar must begin construction within three months of buying the property and complete the project within 15 months.
The bill now awaits Mayor Lenny Curry’s signature.