City to explore Circle garage options

At Monday’s City Commission meeting, St. Armands residents, merchants and landowners presented a united front, advocating for progress toward a long-awaited parking garage in the area.

For now, it appears their efforts have paid off. The commission unanimously voted to further explore a list of four requests made by St. Armands stakeholders, chief among them the construction of a four-level parking garage near the Circle.

Commissioners first heard a presentation from Parking Manager Mark Lyons, who worked alongside consultant Kimley-Horn and Associates to produce a parking study for St. Armands Circle. In the works since 2013, the study examined a variety of parking problems on St. Armands, but the bulk of the attention was focused on addressing the parking deficit in the area — estimated at roughly 320 spaces.

To fix that problem, the report named two potential sites for parking garages in the area: two municipal parking lots on North Adams Drive and South Adams drive. In total, five different options for garage configurations were presented. Each site had its benefits and drawbacks. The north lot was less expensive but smaller and irregularly shaped; the south lot was larger but more expensive and located in a more residential area.

Cost estimates ranged from $8 million for a 403-space garage on North Adams to $14 million for a 597-space garage on South Adams. The study also considered the prospect of constructing two smaller lots on each site, a favored solution for Circle stakeholders that came with a price tag of $17.1 million for 605 spaces.

With the city reluctant to commit to the big-ticket item, St. Armands stakeholders threw their support behind a garage at North Adams Drive. In order to satisfy residents — who had voiced concern about the height of the larger garages — the group also asked for landscape improvements along the entryway to St. Armands Circle, beginning at Coon Key. Other requests included burying the power lines along that entryway and making sure the garage blended into its surroundings.

The commission unanimously agreed to look into the stakeholders’ list of requests and suggested that the garage was a long time coming.

“This is the first we’ve seen a coalition like this,” Vice Mayor Susan Chapman said. “Given that there is this pressing need for parking on St. Armands, I would like to try to put into operation some step forward.”

“Given that there is this pressing need for parking on St. Armands, I would like to try to put into operation some step forward.”

City Manager Tom Barwin said staff would examine logistical and funding options before reporting back to the City Commission. Already, the St. Armands Business Improvement District has committed to contributing $100,000 toward the project each year over the next eight years.

For more information on the St. Armands parking garage talks, pick up a copy of this Wednesday’s Longboat Observer and Thursday’s Sarasota Observer.