Jefferson City discusses possible new parking garage downtown
JEFFERSON CITY, MO (KMIZ)
Jefferson City Public Works has been working on a proposal to purchase new land near the Capitol for another downtown parking garage.
The Jefferson City council members met Monday evening during a work session meeting, where Public Works director, Matt Morasch, said he wanted to inform council members of the plans to purchase land for a new garage. As new council members have come on board, Morasch says he wanted to ensure all members understood why this particular location was chosen to be the new site for a parking garage.
Studies have been performed since 1999 on where a new garage should be built to provide more parking options for the downtown businesses and consumers. Morasch says he's been with the department for almost 20 years and he's been a part of almost every study that has taken place over the years.
The new proposed plan for the garage would be located near the capitol, near High Street and McCarty Street. Demolition would plan to knock out the old warehouse that currently sits near High Street and Wall Way. Morasch says the owner of the property is willing to sell and no historic buildings or features would be affected.
The plans are to create a 4 level parking garage that some spots could be leased to the public or businesses if needed, and would allow for hourly and daily parking rates for visitors coming to the capitol or downtown.
The cost of the new garage with property purchase is planned to cost $13,167,000. Morasch says it will be paid for by the Parking Fund.
The next step to move forward with the process is to finalize the property purchase on the City Council's agenda. If approved the demolition and construction of the garage could start as early as 2022.
Mayor Carrie Tergin says downtown is in need of more parking as many businesses and customers are struggling with restricted parking downtown.
“We know that it could be challenging at times to find ample parking available in our current garage depending on the session or certain times of the year so we know that there’s certain areas downtown that are more high demand and we’re looking at a very high demand spot that would be ideal for a second parking garage so we are exploring that option,” said Tergin.
Tergin says this site is conveniently located near the capitol and provides great access for local downtown businesses.
Members of the city council wanted to ensure that no historical attributes or buildings would be destroyed during the demolition and construction of the proposed garage.
Secretary and Event Planner for Jefferson City Downtown Association, Angela Nale, provided public comment during the work sessions. She said the advisory has already sent its recommendation to move forward with the plans for the new garage as businesses complain constantly about not having available parking for its' employees and customers.
The next Jefferson City Council meeting is scheduled for June 7, where members are expected to discuss the pans for the garage further.
