The overview
The parking garage will add 420 parking spaces to Roanoke’s downtown area, Director of Finance Kyle Lester said. City officials are dedicating $465,000 toward debt related to this project in its fiscal year 2025-26 budget.
The garage is currently in the design phase and will not start construction until full funding is secured, according to a news release sent from the city.
A bond election is not required because the parking garage is for public use, Roanoke Public Engagement Manager Sandra Pettigrew said.
Since this is a government project, the bond will not affect Roanoke taxpayers.
No action was taken on the issuance of the bond and the budget will be looked at again during the Aug. 26 regular council meeting.
The background
The cost of construction was expected to be between $9.24 million and $11.76 million based on the range of $22,000-$28,000 per parking stall, according to previous reporting.
“We thought, based on the [city’s] strategic plan, that we wanted something that would aesthetically fit in with the area,” City Manager Cody Petree said. “It’s a lot more expensive [than originally planned].”
The parking garage is to address a shortage of parking spaces in the downtown area based on an analysis that was completed in 2019, Mayor Scooter Gierisch said at a Jan. 31 council meeting.
