Mayor Recommends Deck Site

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

— Mayor Lioneld Jordan and a committee of city staff and hired consultants on Tuesday recommended locating a downtown parking deck on the south end of the Walton Arts Center property.

By the Numbers

Deck Options

Three options for a downtown parking deck would provide different numbers of parking spaces and would cost different amounts. The city would lose more parking revenue during a 12- to 18-month construction window by building a deck on the main lot west of the Walton Arts Center or a lot south of Kingfish bar than by building a deck on the south end of the arts center property.

Total Parking Spaces Net Parking Space Gain Parking Revenue Lost Total Cost

Theater Site 246 218 $83,700 $6.37 million

WAC Lot 339 242 $199,000 $6.38 million

East Lot 293 233 $134,500 $6.29 million

Source: City of Fayetteville

A five-level, 246-space parking deck on the “theater site” would cost $6.37 million, according to Ron Petrie, senior project manager with Garver engineers. Drivers could enter and exit the parking deck from Spring Street and School Avenue, and storefronts could be added on the deck’s ground level.

“We know there’s not a perfect lot,” Petrie said. “But with these specific items and with what we’ve looked at, the recommendation, at least from the design team, is to proceed with the theater site.”

City Council members will also consider two other sites at their Dec. 4 meeting: the main parking lot west of the Walton Arts Center and a city-owned lot east of the arts center and south of Kingfish bar.

City staff had narrowed the list of parking deck options to two before members of the arts center governing board in July suggested re-examining the “east lot.”

According to Tuesday’s report, a 293-space parking deck could be built on the east lot for $6.29 million. A 339-space deck on the main Walton Arts Center lot was expected to cost $6.38 million.

While the theater site would not be the least expensive option to design and build, city officials said they would not lose out on as much parking revenue by locating a deck there.

Officials expected to lose $199,000 in parking fees over a 12- to 18-month construction window by building on the Walton Arts Center lot. They said $134,500 would be lost during construction by replacing the east lot.

“If we stay with the theater site, that would be, financially, the easiest for us to accommodate,” said Paul Becker, Fayetteville finance director.

Jordan plans to finance the parking deck using fees and fines from the city’s paid parking program. The mayor said he wants to issue up to $6.5 million in bonds for the project by the end of the year.

One disadvantage of building on the theater site is the city would have to pay to relocate the arts center’s administrative offices. Petrie said the offices could be incorporated into plans for a deck. David Jurgens, who is overseeing the project for the city, said Grub’s Bar & Grille and a building used for storage space by the arts center would not have to be removed if the theater site is selected.

With the east lot, the city would likely have to acquire two houses and one business — the Highroller Cyclery.

A deck with a larger footprint would have to be built on the Walton Arts Center lot to make up for the loss in parking revenue, Jurgens said. And, according to a geotechnical analysis of the site, workers would have a greater chance of running into underground voids in that location, making construction more costly.

“Each (lot) has a major capital expense that kind of detracts from the ability to put dollars to parking spaces,” Jurgens said.

Web Watch

Site Selection Study

To view a full copy of the site selection study Fayetteville aldermen reviewed Tuesday, go to accessfayetteville.… and search for “parking deck.”

Terri Trotter, chief operating officer for the Walton Arts Center, said Tuesday the theater lot was not arts center officials’ first choice for a parking deck. Having to temporarily relocate administrative offices would be disruptive, Trotter said, and, she added, not as many parking spaces could be built there.

“There are certainly challenges on the theater lot that we need to address with the city and work through,” Trotter said. “We’re happy to be in this position, though. We’re moving forward with a deck, and that’s important to us.”

According to a current timeline for the project, parking deck construction is expected to begin in May or June and end by November 2014.