Finance committee hears bond, TIF and authority options to fund downtown parking structures

City of Norman finance committee members heard bond counsel David Floyd outline several financing approaches the city could use to build vertical parking structures downtown and near other activity centers.

The discussion, at the April 17 finance committee meeting, followed a 2018 downtown parking study that identified three priority sites, including a county lot north of the courthouse, the Peters and Gray city parking lot and a lot at Campus Corner. Committee members said demand has risen as property owners and a developer pursuing as many as 800 housing units downtown have sought long‑term parking solutions.

“NORMAN currently doesn’t generate enough to get started on debt service for a structure like this,” bond counsel David Floyd said. “But when you have something like this that actually drives other value, it makes sense to spin it off and have it on its own.” Floyd spoke in his capacity as bond…