Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Deal for beach parking in reach

A partnership between Clearwater and a developer could result in up to 300 public spaces.

By MIKE DONILA
Published February 2, 2007

CLEARWATER - City leaders say a contract to build a public parking garage on busy south Clearwater Beach could be hammered out within the next couple of months.

Current discussions call for Lucca Development to build a 400- to 500-space parking garage on a site of almost 1-acre on Fifth Street, between Hamden and Coronado drives. The city would buy up to 300 of the spaces, not to exceed $30,000 per space. The actual amount would come down to how much it costs to build the garage.

While the spaces would cost the city up to $9-million, officials say the purchase would be a major coup in their efforts to find much-needed public parking during the tourist season.

The move also could actually save the city money. The city has plans to set aside more than $12-million to build a parking garage if voters in March agree to extend the Penny for Pinellas sales tax. That means any savings from a possible private-public partnership could be reallocated to other big-ticket city projects.

Construction on the garage would have to start within six months of the council approving the plan, and it must wrap up within 18 months from groundbreaking, according to early discussions.

The garage would be built across the street from where Illinois-based Lucca Development plans to build a $125-million condominium project called Marbella on the Beach Front. Construction on Marbella, at 325 S. Gulfview Blvd., is expected to begin sometime this summer.

Any space in the garage not purchased by the city would go to tenants in Marbella and other future Lucca developments.

Joe Burdette, whose Consus Group represents Lucca, said the developer has put together some preliminary designs and will meet with the city in the next week or so.

"We're ready," Burdette said. "We were set to build (more than) 450 spaces, but we don't need that much. But since the city is always looking for spaces, we thought this would be a good partnership.

"Besides, it's a great location - you only have to walk one block to the beach."

While other developers have floated ideas in the past about building parking garages, city officials say this proposal is the closest so far to becoming reality.

And, if all goes as planned, it could just come down to some minor details.

"It is moving forward," Assistant City Manager Rod Irwin said. "One of the things that makes this more attractive is that the owner has a clear title for the property and the (approved) proposal is to use it for a parking garage. That makes it an easier deal to conclude."

Irwin said the next step is for the developer to turn over a functional layout and design of the garage, so the city can get an idea of what the building will look like and how much it will cost.

He said the two sides also need to decide whether the city, the developer or a private party would operate the garage.

If the spaces are secured, Irwin said the city would keep costs consistent with the rest of public parking along the beach. Spots currently cost between 75 cents and $2 an hour, depending on the time of year and day of the week.

Available parking on the beach is about to get more scarce. By the end of February, the city will begin eliminating more than 500 of the 755 public parking spaces available to make way for Beach Walk, a revitalization initiative that includes walkways, plazas, greenery and fountains.

Beach Walk is expected to bring residents and visitors closer to the sand and boost the city's overall tourism industry.

To further help with available parking spaces, the city is counting on the Hyatt project, a hotel development that includes 400 public parking spaces off S. Gulfview Boulevard. Work on the hotel has started but could take up to two years to complete.

As Clearwater Beach continues to garner national recognition, more and more visitors are expected each year. So, the dilemma, Councilman John Doran says, is trying to figure out just how much parking the beach needs.

"There's not a week that goes by that someone doesn't say or write a letter or otherwise comment that we need more parking there," said Doran, who has lived on the beach since 1983. "It's been studied on a regular basis over and over again that we don't have enough parking on the beach, but it's also true that many days we have too many spaces."

He said the council's responsibility is trying to find a balance between providing spaces for "the short bursts" and "spaces all the time."

"We're continuing to look at what's appropriate to spend for the additional parking and how to pay for it," he said.

[Last modified February 1, 2007, 23:47:54]