To paraphrase the famous cliché, Birmingham gets to have its parking and enjoy more green space, too...
...now that its plans to expand and renovate downtown's Shain Park are moving toward approval.
The City Commission is expected to review the plans this month (August). Those plans call for expanding the park south to a surface parking lot across Henrietta Street from The Townsend Hotel. The city expects to spend $7.5 million to install two levels of underground parking on the site and expanding the park's green space over it. The new underground parking garage will increase the total number of parking spaces on that space from 150 to about 210.
"It was not that expensive to go another level down and it would add another 60 parking spaces," says Dennis Dembiec, director of engineering and public service for Birmingham.
The plans also call for another $3.5 million investment in improving the park's infrastructure, such as aesthetically pleasing walkways and a band shell on the expanded portion. City officials hope to break ground next year and work it in with nearby sewer and street work. The construction will likely tie up the park for one to two years.
Source: Dennis Dembiec, director of engineering and public service for Birmingham
Writer: Jon Zemke
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