The first step in a $2 million plan to revamp city parking structures is set to begin early this week.
Crews will begin renovating the Grove Street parking structure and repaving concrete curbs, ramps and stairwells, as well as upgrading the building’s lighting and elevator systems, Planning & Community Development Director Tim Dempsey said.
The renovations are the first step in a three-year plan to maintain downtown parking structures. Each summer from now until 2013, one major downtown structure will undergo refurbishing. City officials hope to extend the life wspan of the structures another three decades, Dempsey said.
Also slated for refurbishing are the Division Street structure and the University Place structure attached to the East Lansing Marriott at University Place, 300 M.A.C. Ave.
The Grove Street structure also will be tied to a new mixed development structure located near the corner of Albert Avenue and Grove Street, which will begin construction this summer.
A 2009 parking structure survey found the ramps had suffered from routine freeze-and-thaw weathering, East Lansing City Councilmember Kevin Beard said.
The Grove Street structure was first built in the 1980s, Dempsey said. He said the structure will remain open throughout the construction.
The renovations come as city council passed a budget for the 2012 fiscal year with cuts to city services last week, which likely will result in reductions to emergency response. Beard said maintaining parking structures is an important piece in protecting city assets.
“We really need to invest this money now to maintain that asset,” Beard said. “If we delay it any longer, the condition of the ramp will deteriorate.”
Beard said city-funded parking is important because it alleviates pressure from private businesses, making it easier for them to succeed.
City-owned parking is a self-sufficient fund, as revenue from parking fees is channeled for maintenance costs. While parking once garnered a profit, the structures have run on a break-even basis for the last five years as downtown business traffic has dropped off because of economic downturn, Dempsey said.
“You have to invest in (parking) regardless of the economic times going on around you,” Dempsey said.
Sociology junior Brittany Lewis said she usually only parks downtown about once a month because finding parking is such a hassle.
“If it were free, I would drive a lot more,” Lewis said.
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