Ground Breaking Set for Downtown Parking Garage

By Alyssa Schnugg
Staff writer
alyssa.schnugg@hottytoddy.com

After several years of planning and countless meetings, the Downtown Parking Advisory Commission and the Oxford Board of Aldermen will break ground Monday on the site of Oxford’s first downtown parking garage.

The groundbreaking ceremony will take place at 10 a.m. in the parking lot off of Jefferson Avenue where construction is set to begin on Aug. 27.

“It’s a very good feeling,” said Tom Sharpe, commission chairman. “The parking commission has worked long and hard to gather the data over the years to determine whether or not we needed a garage. Once we determined we need it, went through the process of putting in place a method of paying for it. And now we’re at a place where we are beginning construction – and it’s a wonderful place.”

The commission began looking at the need for a parking garage in 2012 and a study was done to examine possible locations in 2013. Two areas were identified – behind City Hall and the lot off Jefferson Avenue. However, the conversation died down for a couple of years after the city put in stricter parking enforcement around the Square which helped move the cars and created more empty spaces.

In September 2014, the city started a paid-parking system and metered most of the downtown parking spaces around the Square, leaving the outlining city-owned lots free. The paid parking has also helped to move cars but occupancy studies have shown that during business hours and dinner time, most of the spaces are full, especially Wednesday-Saturday.

The need for a parking garage came back up and in the fall of 2015 the commission was tasked again to determine if a parking garage was needed and then if so, where should it be built and how would the city pay for it.

In December 2016, the Oxford Board of Aldermen accepted the recommendation from the Downtown Parking Advisory Commission to build a parking garage off Jefferson Avenue.
In June, the aldermen approved the bid packages for construction.

The garage is expected to cost around $11.7 million and take about a year to construct.

About 235 parking spaces will be lost during construction; however, the city has come up with additional parking areas, either through rental agreements with property owners or through “donations” of spaces through local churches and Lafayette County government officials.

Along with the free parking lots around the Square currently, 60 spaces will be available in the former Gin parking lot; 33 spaces will be available at the Mississippi Department of Human Services building; 40 spaces will be available at the Church of Christ – pending a wedding, funeral or other church event during the weeks; and 31 spaces on a county-owned lot between Fifth and Sixth streets.