Council hears early proposal to site 600‑space parking garage as first step in Civic Center master plan

City staff opened a refresh conversation about the Civic Center master plan and presented an early concept for a new parking garage north of Maple Street that staff said could serve fleet vehicles, public parking and a potential public‑private housing partnership.

Project manager Sylvia Tatman Burris and Assistant City Manager Denzel Maxwell said the Civic Center master plan — originally adopted in 2021 and updated periodically — is a long‑term vision that includes space planning, campus connectivity and potential new construction. Staff identified a surface fleet parking lot north of Maple Street, adjacent to the trolley barn, as the proposed garage site and described a 600‑space structure sized to meet future campus and downtown needs and to replace displaced surface fleet parking.

Staff said the site is underused now for city fleet parking and that demand exists across civic facilities; they reported an active wait list for the Civic Center parking garage of more than 100 permit holders. The proposed garage would also support downtown amenities and could be part of a joint development with a nearby private housing project, which staff said creates a timing opportunity for city‑led exploration.

Council members raised multiple concerns and asked for follow‑up before any commitment: several members requested that staff await the downtown parking optimization study results before committing to a large, costly structure; others asked for detailed cost and financing scenarios (staff gave a planning‑level figure of about $40,000 per parking stall, or roughly $25 million for 600 spaces, and said design funding is already appropriated); several asked whether fleet vehicles should be parked in prime downtown real estate or relocated to off‑site lots and whether the proposed structure could be sized smaller or designed for future alternative uses or mixed uses (housing, civic programming).

Parking Services senior manager Eric Kesselberg explained the current garage permit policy and said staff use an oversell of roughly 40% on permits to preserve hourly capacity; Tracy Ochsner, director of Operations Services, provided the industry cost‑per‑stall estimate used for preliminary planning. Finance staff said potential funding options and partnership structures will be assessed with the city’s financial advisor; staff said any partnership or financing plan would return to council for decision.

Staff said next steps include further internal engagement, coordination with the downtown parking optimization consultant, drafting a potential partnership agreement if interest remains, and developing schematic design to 50 percent to establish a firm project cost estimate. No formal council decision or funding commitment was requested at the work session.