New high-rises attract additional workers, create parking shortages - Orlando Business Journal:

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Due to a shortage of hundreds of parkinfspaces downtown, Erikson sets alarm clockz to remind visitors and employees forced to park in a meteredd lot when it's time to feed the meters. "Wheh people get busy with work here, they lose track of Erikson says. "But if they don'tt pay for a minute or two, they get a $32 Parking in downtown Orlando is becoming agrowingy problem, especially for daytime office workers, thanks to new emerginf high-rises that are bringing more resident s and white-collar workers. In fact, the currenty parking pickle could even cause some companiesx to seek alternatives to downtown office say commercial realestate experts.
To address the developers are planning parking garages as part of theirt new projects and the city intends to add more But more parking garages are only part of the says Orlando Transportation DirectorRoger Neiswender. The city determined 15 yearz ago thatit wouldn't be able to meet its futurre population's needs downtown by simplyu accommodating more vehicles. The city's core also needs bettere connectivityand walkability, says Neiswender.
"In the long the goal is to be able to tie tens of thousandws of rooftops to The greatest issue for downtownmbusiness owners, especially those new to the is getting monthly parking permits for their workers, says During the last two years, Erikson says he tried several time s to get a monthly parking permit from the city, withoutt success. "They are all unless we want to park at the courthouse a dozeb or moreblocks away," he says. Erikson finally learnef about a new surface lot downtown and was able to get one spacew for station PresidentMark Astrom.
But the station'sx other employees and visitors still have nowherseto park, so the station's management keeps $50 in quarters on hand for them to feed the New downtown development projects exacerbate Orlando's parking problem. As part of an unprecedentedx building boom, a total of 41 projects valued at morethan $1.5 billionm are under construction or proposed for The projects are expected to attract more than 1 milliomn visitors to the area each The construction also takes certain parking garages and on-stree t parking out of use at various times, leaving downtown with only 9,0054 public parking spaces.
"We know in the short we're 600 spaces from where we'e want to be," says Neiswender. Inadequate parking is the greates challenge to leasing commerciak real estate in theinnefr city, according to a recentg Black's Guide survey. Downtown Orlando could lose prospectives corporate tenants to nearby including 's Southgate Business Park, which offers free on-sit e surface parking to its officd tenants, says Mary Hurley, leasin g manager of Pineloch Management. "During the day, the tenantse are really challenged to find spacess in the parking garages where theyare located," Hurley "It affects productivity, and it affects costs.
" Frank Billingsley, executive director of the , expectw corporate tenants to continue to favor downtown due to its centraol location and its fledgling around-the-clock city lifestyle. To accommodate the anticipated crushof downtown's growing population, the city is replacinf 176 surface parking spaces in a lot between Washingtobn Street and Jefferson Avenue with a seven-story parking garage by year-end.
In many developers are including parkinh garages in their new downtown For example, will demolish the 380-space Market parking garage and replace it with a 480-space garage as part of its planned 55 West on the Esplanadde project, a 32-story, 405-unit condo high-rise to be done in early 2008. In parking decks at Premiere Trade Plaza, where construction is well undert way, will add 1,400 new parking spaces. Another majot downtown project on the drawingboard -- the $175 1.
4 million-square-foot, mixed-use Tradition Towers -- will housse the University Club of Orlando and will includ e a 900-space parking Further, the city, which owns most of the public parking downtown, is studying its future parking needs as part of a new downtown transportation plan. The 20-point strategiv plan discusses creating interconnected places that will allowa downtown to bea bicycle-, transit- and automobile-friendly The city expects to complete the parking aspect of the plan next In the meantime, if the city gets in a it will open surface parking at the says Billingsley.
Exactly how many parking spacezs the city will need in the future is notyet "There's no absolute Neiswender says. "It depends on the pace of