Council takes another step toward solving Auburn's downtown parking problem

The Auburn City Council unanimously approved a resolution on Tuesday night proposing the payment of $2.33 million to the Alabama Baptist State Convention for the acquisition of property located at 135 North College St., where the city plans to build a new parking deck.

The construction of the parking deck is aimed at addressing citizens' concerns over a lack of available parking in the Auburn downtown core by providing an estimated 291 additional parking spaces in the five-level and approximately 60-foot-high building, according to early plans presented to the council by Economic Development Director Philip Dunlap in August.

Auburn City Manager Jim Buston said there are still multiple steps that need to be taken by the city in order to close the deal and start construction.

First, the city has to survey the property and create a plat before it can close the deal. The Baptist Student Union then has to approve the floor plan for their new building, which will be built on the ground floor of the parking deck, a process which Buston said they have until April 2018 to complete but he hopes will be done more quickly.

The city also has to choose an architect to hire to design the structure, a decision the council plans to make at their next meeting on Jan. 2, 2018.

After all of these processes are complete and the deal is closed, the city can begin demolishing the existing structure, Buston said.

“There are a lot of little steps to do,” Buston said. “We had hoped to be able to close by the end of January, but that probably might go into March. It just depends on how quickly everything can get done. But all three parties want to close as quickly as possible; now it’s just the legalities that we have to work through.”

In response to concerns raised over the changing of downtown Auburn’s small-town aesthetic by the addition of another large parking deck, Buston said the planned structure is the best way to go.

“We have to add parking somehow, so a parking deck is the most efficient way and the least disruptive way,” Buston said. “It takes up the least amount of space. You don’t want a large parking lot taking up all of that parking space. … The location of this parking deck is very good for downtown Auburn. It’s centrally located, it’s facing Wright Street so it’s really not impacting College (Street), which we don’t want, so it’s an ideal location.”