Traverse City Record-Eagle

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July 13, 2010

West Front parking deck may be bigger

BY ART BUKOWSKI abukowski@record-eagle.com

TRAVERSE CITY — A proposed West Front Street parking deck will have to be bigger than previously discussed, city officials said.

The city moves closer to approving plans for a large deck at 305 W. Front St., a large lot just north of the 10-story Riverview Terrace housing complex. The deck would complement an adjacent mixed-use complex proposed by local developer Jerry Snowden.

Officials commissioned a series of deck designs several months ago, and city commissioners opted to move toward a 271-space, $8.7 million deck over a 405-space, $11.6 million deck. The smaller deck could be expanded in the future, commissioners reasoned, and they wanted to use as little tax-increment financing dollars for the project as possible.

But City Manager Ben Bifoss on Monday told commissioners that the smaller deck won't cut it.

"Nobody thinks that 271 parking spaces are going to be sufficient to fill the needs," he said.

Snowden's development alone — which is slated to include a movie theater — will need more than 300 spaces, Bifoss said.

But Bifoss said he's going to attempt to spend no more TIF money on the larger deck and instead seek other funding sources. TIF money was slated to cover roughly $5.2 million of the $8.7 million deck, Bifoss said.

Commissioners hope Bifoss can make it happen.

"If you can turn a big deck out of little deck money, be my guest," Commissioner Mike Gillman said.

Some commissioners previously said they didn't want to short-change other improvement projects in the city by dumping too much money in the proposed new deck.

City voters in 2006 shot down plans for a 500-plus space, $16 million deck only a few hundred yards from where the new deck would stand, but officials contend there remains a desperate need for parking on the west side of town.

The structure would be the city's third taxpayer-funded deck, joining the Larry C. Hardy deck on East State Street and a deck under construction in the Old Town neighborhood.

Snowden's development and the new parking deck could break ground early next year.

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