Capacity reduced at Charlottesville’s Market Street Parking Garage

A private company that uses technology to identify vehicles that enter Charlottesville’s two municipal parking garages will have fewer spaces to work with for the next two months or so.

The upper floors of the Market Street Parking Garage will be closed through at least August 28 while repairs and renovations are made.

“The repairs are related to damage sustained during a previous vehicle fire and will involve the restoration of several concrete structural components on Level 3 of the garage,” reads an information release sent out on July 6.

According to a 2015 parking study, Market Street Parking Garage has 473 available spaces and Water Street Parking Garage has 1,019 spaces. Management is currently provided by a tech company called Metropolis which in December began using its proprietary surveillance software to charge people who use the spaces.

The City of Charlottesville fully owns the Market Street Parking Garage as well as the land underneath. The city has an ownership stake in the physical Water Street Parking Garage but pays the Charlottesville Parking Center upwards of $1.8 million a year to satisfy the terms of a ground lease.

The release does not state how much the repairs will be, but the money comes from the city’s Enterprise Parking Fund.

“This year’s budget includes a continued allocation for additional capital repairs at both the Market Street and Water Street Garage,” reads a portion of the city’s budget. “Monthly and hourly parking demand continues to be moderate while all operating expenses, including ground rent at Water Street, and for the entire system have increased.”

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