DDA: Price out third parking ramp

Mar. 18—TRAVERSE CITY — Building a third parking ramp in downtown Traverse City can't happen if city leaders and the Downtown Development Authority don't know how much it'll cost.

That's what DDA board member and Mayor Richard Lewis said Friday after voting to recommend drafting a request for proposals to build another parking ramp. It'll ultimately be up to city commissioners to decide whether to task their engineering department to work with DDA staff on such a request.

Getting real numbers for a structure estimated to cost $35 million, including property, is a prerequisite to borrowing to build the city-owned garage for which DDA would pay by extending TIF 97, one of two tax increment finance plans set to expire in a few years.

"It's hard to do the financing if you don't have numbers, more accurate, up-to-date numbers," he said.

Other DDA board members agreed and voted 8-0 to ask the city commission to keep the process moving — Katy Bertodatto, Pete Kirkwood and Pam Marsh were absent with one open seat on the board.

It's part of a strategy to eliminate some downtown surface parking lots in favor of "stacking" cars, DDA CEO Jean Derenzy said. She echoed past arguments for repurposing what little vacant land is left in the downtown, and noted a parking garage is just one part of a wider effort to make it easier to access the district.

Plans call for redeveloping two parking lots, Lots G and O on State Street, turning Lot A into riverside parkland and redesigning Lot T, home of the Sara Hardy Farmers Market. And Lot V will come offline in July once Socks Construction claims it as part of a land swap so the city has a spot to build a third parking ramp.

The developer agreed to pay $4,913,625 for Lot V, while the city paid $6,599,340 for the land it got in the same block along State Street. That includes Lot P across the alley.

All told, the city loses 297 spots by 2026. Building a new, 625-space parking ramp would replace those and add 276 more — those totals would change if Lot X off Hall Street and Lot T at Union Street and Grandview Parkway were redeveloped.

Downtown retailers need assurances that city and DDA leaders are serious about building a new parking ramp, DDA board Vice Chairman Scott Hardy said.

"Because as we talk about eliminating surface parking, without this component we're in for a world of hurt in the downtown because of a lack of parking spaces that are going to be available," he said. "This is integral to the survival of downtown."

There's plenty of work to do first — Lewis previously said he expects the city to decide on extending TIF 97 and borrowing for a parking ramp in 2024, both of which could be put to referendum if city voters submit enough signatures in time.

Nicole VanNess, the DDA's transportation and mobility director, said some downtown parkers will need to change their habits as the city emphasizes stacked parking over surface lots.

Results from a downtown employee survey underscored how accustomed people are to driving by themselves and parking as close to work as possible. Of the 233 respondents, 213 commute that way.

But 47 percent said they would prefer to use other options, with 48 people saying they would rather bike, rollerblade or scooter to work, 24 preferring to work from home and 20 saying they would rather use transit.

Shifting more people to use Bay Area Transportation Authority buses could be as simple as informing them of existing options, including the free Bayline route that runs east-west throughout the day, according to one conclusion in the survey results.

Discouraging long stays in downtown parking spots could be bad for business owners, said board member Jeff Joubran. Some customers at his shop have abruptly left to avoid getting a ticket.

People parking for quick stops to downtown shops leave those spaces free to turn over frequently throughout the day, whereas those staying for a few hours or more tie up those spaces, VanNess said.

Board Chairman Gabe Schneider said the DDA could also incentivize people to want park for a few hours at a stretch to do so in spots they wouldn't typically consider, including in existing parking ramps.

Extending TIF 97 would also provide the financing for plans to revamp the banks of the Boardman/Ottaway River where it runs through the core of downtown.

Authority board members on Friday voted 8-0 to encourage the city to draft a request for proposals for the final design and engineering plans for what Hardy said is a series of projects planned to be built over time.

Early estimates put the projects, a result of the Lower Boardman River Unified Plan, at $60 million or more — Schneider acknowledged it sounds like a lot of money, but considering how long the city had neglected and even abused the river, it's not so large an investment.

Derenzy said she sees it as the start of a new era where the river is valued and highlighted as a natural resource and asset, instead of ignored.