Maitland looks to add downtown parking

A 35-year-old medical office building on Maitland Avenue could be an answer to some of downtown Maitland’s parking problems.

The Maitland City Council approved purchasing the 5,052-square-foot building at the corner of Maitland and Packwood avenues for $1.135 million on Monday.

City Manager Sharon Anselmo said that, as-is, the building, located at 301 S. Maitland Ave., would provide the city an extra 35 parking spaces. And, she said, if it was torn down, 20 more spaces could be paved to expand the flat lot. The money to purchase the building will come out of the city’s fund balance, which Anselmo said currently holds $14 million.

Councilwoman Joy Goff-Marcil said purchasing the building is an example of the city planning for the future, and visioning what the city’s downtown can become years down the road. If the Council voted not to purchase the building, she said, later Councils would look back on the vote as a missed opportunity.

“It’s a no-brainer,” she said.

The Maitland City Council has grappled with where locals will park when they visit the city’s soon-to-be redeveloped downtown. A plan to construct a parking garage where the city’s old city hall stood was shot down early last year in favor of transforming the parking lot into a park. And a plan by the same developer to construct a similar retail-fronted garage across the street on the other side of Horatio Avenue remains in limbo. The in-the-works Maitland City Centre project will include a 504-spot parking garage, but much of it will be designated for those living in its 220 apartments.

Maitland Mayor Dale McDonald, not present at Monday’s meeting, has consistently fought for more parking downtown, urging the City Council to consider angled parking on Independence Lane, which would allow for more spots than the current parallel parking configuration. But that idea has been repeatedly shot down, with the majority of the Council favoring the more pedestrian-friendly parallel layout.

The medical office, which is bordered on two sides by city-owned properties – the Maitland Senior Center and Quinn Strong Park – is 400 feet from the entrance to City Hall, 600 feet from the Maitland Public Library and 200 to 400 feet from the entrances to Art & History Museums – Maitland buildings. All of those destinations are walkable from the building, Anselmo said. For reference, she said, Independence Lane from end-to-end is 570 feet.

Former Art & History Museums – Maitland board president Bill Randolph said the city purchasing the building would greatly benefit the art center as it looks to expand. Recent A&H expansion plans have struggled to find the space to install the extra parking spaces needed to serve a new building.

“I think this is really a step forward for our community to think about solving parking holistically and not individually,” he said.

The lot could someday be expanded into a large garage, Randolph said, and could serve the increasing parking needs of Maitland’s downtown.

Maitland Public Library Director Ellen Schellhause said the additional parking would help the library, as it often runs out of parking spaces when it hosts events.

“This would greatly help us out with the extra parking spaces. I think it’s a wonderful idea,” Schellhause said.

Vice Mayor Bev Reponen said the deal to buy the building almost seemed too good to be true, but City Attorney Cliff Shepard assured the Council that the deal is squeaky-clean.

“There’s nothing wrong with this deal,” Shepard said. “… It seems like this would be a good thing to potentially solve a problem.”

The city is set to close on the property on or before January 2017.