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 counsel to the City of Norman and described a range of options: create an independent city parking authority that would own parking assets and issue debt; partner with a regional authority such as the Central Oklahoma Parking and Transit Authority (COPTA); use long‑term leases to lock in revenue for bond underwriting; form a downtown tax‑increment financing (TIF) district as a credit enhancement; pursue grants (including transit‑oriented or green/renewable grants); or build with private operators and, eventually, sell the asset.

Committee members and staff emphasized structuring finance so the city’s general fund would not be used for ongoing debt service. Floyd estimated current regional construction costs at about $20,000 to $25,000 per parking space and said a 300‑space garage “by itself” would be “several million dollars” to construct. Staff noted the Peters and Gray lot contains about 151 spaces and the city currently leases roughly 75 on an annual basis.

Committee members discussed differences among the three study sites and a potential fourth site adjacent to Embassy Suites, where staff reported hotel managers have been open to exploring a vertical garage on their land that would guarantee the hotel’s current spaces plus additional spots. Staff also described a Cleveland County RFP for a courthouse‑area garage and a county proposal that pairs a hotel with a parking structure; those county plans could influence footprint and financing approaches for the Peters and Gray site because the dimensions are similar.

Floyd urged considering a regional approach to spread risk and increase demand, saying the larger the service area, the easier it is to get multiple structures financed without touching the city’s general debt capacity. He also noted private investors and financial firms routinely acquire revenue‑producing parking assets when municipalities want to realize one‑time proceeds.

Councilmember Daryl Ingram said he supported a phased approach that prioritized facilities likely to perform consistently, calling the YFAC‑adjacent site a “captive audience.” Several members expressed concern about Campus Corner, where a surface lot north of the core is often underused; staff said they would revisit usage data for that lot.

What the committee directed and next steps

Staff will return to the finance committee with proposed trust documents and schematics and provide another update in about four weeks. The committee did not take formal action or vote on financing at the meeting.

Provenance

Topic intro excerpt: “the parking study identified 3 parking structures” (transcript block beginning at 25.535). Topic finish excerpt: “we'll plan on an update about 4 weeks from today” (transcript block beginning at 1802.115).