After years of heated debate and public backlash, Charlottesville City Council seems to have decided to shelve a proposed multi-million dollar downtown parking garage, opting to explore cheaper—and potentially greener—options.
During a May 25 work session, the councilors discussed how the city should fulfill a 2018 promise to provide 90 parking spots to Albemarle County courthouse employees and visitors. Because of a perceived parking shortage, the county had previously considered moving its courts out of the city.
The proposed 300-space garage would be located at the corner of Ninth and Market streets, the current home of Lucky 7 and Guadalajara Mexican restaurant. Ninety spots on the ground level would be reserved for county court employees and visitors during regular court hours, while the rest of the garage would be available to the public. It was expected to cost a whopping $11.3 million.
But there are several other ways the city could keep up its end of the deal, explained Director of Economic Development Chris Engel during the meeting. The city could instead construct a smaller parking garage with 140 to 200 spaces at the same proposed location, costing an estimated $6 to $8 million. Or to drastically reduce costs, it could build an approximately $1 million surface lot with 30 to 40 spaces.
Though the proposed surface lot would still require the city to set aside parking spaces for the county at an additional location, councilors agreed that it was the safest option, in light of the abundant parking already available downtown.
“I haven’t seen a lot of data to back up [the idea] that there is a severe parking shortage,” said Councilor Michael Payne. “Even before COVID, there were always spaces available in the Water Street garage when the Market Street garage was full.”
“[Market Street Garage] only reaches peak capacity occasionally during midday on weekdays, so we’re spending $15 million to address a problem that exists for a couple of hours, which could always be resolved by someone going to the Water Street garage,” he added. “That’s in addition to all of these other private spaces.”
Payne also urged the rest of council to find a way to build the surface lot without demolishing Guadalajara and Lucky 7, which would only add eight parking spaces.
Councilor Lloyd Snook emphasized how the pandemic has reduced downtown parking demand. Many employees continue to work from home, and may do so permanently.
“Particularly at a time where we have a lot of crunch in our capital budget, it seems to be a good time to not commit to spending that money,” said Snook.
Mayor Nikuyah Walker added that rideshare, along with diverting people from the criminal justice system when possible, should be a priority for the city and county.
While Councilor Heather Hill agreed that the pandemic could have a lasting impact on downtown parking, she pointed out that the 46-year-old Market Street garage would need to be replaced soon.
Regardless of parking demand, City Manager Chip Boyles said the county still needs 90 spaces for the new joint general district courthouse, but would likely be open to alternatives to the proposed garage, such as designated surface parking.
During public comment, local residents echoed council’s concerns over the garage, especially given that the city has promised to drastically cut down on carbon emissions over the next decade.
“[Data] strongly suggests that with better parking management, there’s all the parking we need downtown,” said Jamelle Bouie. “Do we want our children or grandchildren to have a downtown Charlottesville that is dominated by looming parking structures, in a time that we know we’re transitioning away from car centric development?”
City Planning Commissioner Rory Stolzenberg pointed out that over 500 private parking spaces will be added downtown with projects like the Center of Developing Entrepreneurs. Instead of building more parking, the city should incentivize more employees to park in the Water Street garage, he said.
However, several downtown business owners wanted to move forward with the 300-space garage, pointing to the parking spaces that have been or will be lost to projects like the Belmont Bridge replacement.
“This [garage] is going to replace the parking that’s being lost,” said Joan Fenton, owner of Quilts Unlimited and chair of the city parking advisory panel. “If you talk to any one of the [entertainment] venues, they’ll all say that they see the need for additional parking.”
Paramount Theater Executive Director Chris Eure said the venue recently sold out a comedy show within a few hours, proving “downtown will be coming back.”
“Frankly, hearing the conversation that the parking garage isn’t going to be built, it’s almost like a kick in the stomach after working so hard to remain open during this crisis and do what we can for the downtown area,” added Eure.
Construction on a parking lot must begin no later than May 1, 2022, and be completed by November 30, 2023. If council decides to scrap the project, the city must provide 100 spaces at Market Street garage to the county during court hours, or give it exclusive control over the surface parking lot currently at Seventh and Market streets.
Council will vote on an official resolution during its June 7 meeting.