City Council approves purchase of downtown property for future four-story parking garage

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Posted March 2, 2022 | By James Blevins
james@ocalagazette.com

The Ocala City Council unanimously approved a contract and addendum to purchase six parcels in downtown Ocala from Mt. Moriah Missionary Baptist Church during its March 1 regular meeting on Tuesday.

The contract price for the parcels was $1.7 million, which will be sourced from the city’s “General Fund Reserve for Projects,” according to city documents.

The city plans to use the approximate 1.62 acres of property to build a four-story parking garage, located east along the right-of-way of S.W. 3^rd Avenue on north and south sides of S.W. Fort King Street, in the Central Business District of Ocala. Construction funding will be addressed in the FY 2023 budget.

Originally, the agenda item came before the council on Feb. 1, but they agreed to postpone a vote on the topic until March 1, giving city staff time to collect opinions from the public and downtown business owners.

City staff conducted two “well-attended” public information sessions on Feb. 16, where Ocala residents and business owners raised a number of concerns ranging from public safety to financing options.

While some business owners adjacent to the property were thrilled to see that more parking spaces would be available for employees, others near the site expressed concerns that the garage would cut them off from downtown.

“We got a lot of good input, overwhelmingly positive,” said Pete Lee, assistant city manager, of the sessions during the March 1 council meeting.

Prior to voting on the agenda item, Councilmember Barry Mansfield asked Lee if the city had plans for purchasing the northwest parcel of the property not owned by Mt. Moriah going forward and whether or not the parking garage would fit in the area the city planned to purchase.

“The parking garage will fit. And yes, we actually have a contract with the owner of that property. We’ve discussed it with him and I think it will close soon,” said Lee.

Public Comment

Glen Fiorello spoke during public comment, expressing his opposition to taxpayers’ money being spent on a parking garage.

“I believe that’s a private sector function, not a government function,” said Fiorello. “It’s a big investment we’re speaking about right here. It’s not something I think we should take lightly.”

Lee then stood up to address Fiorello’s comments.

“That’s something to consider,” said Lee. “Will the garage have a public or private partnership? Will it be a privately owned garage? I’m sure there will be interest from the private sector at this point. To build it, you [city council] may not be interested in that. Those are questions that we should answer as we move forward.”

Another member of the public, Chris Arroyo, addressed the council to congratulate them and local government for taking an initiative to accommodate the needs of its citizens.

“I’m 18 years old and I’m pretty new to this whole government stuff, but, in regards to the parking garage, I do think it’s pretty great that the government is taking more of an active role to meet our transportation needs,” said Arroyo.

“We need to park our cars somewhere,” he added, “and Ocala is a busy spot. So I appreciate it.”

The addendum to the original contract extends the closing date by 60 days, from “on or before March 31, 2022 to “on or before June 1, 2022.” The city also has a 90-day feasibility period during which it can cancel the contract if it finds it isn’t suitable, according to City Attorney Rob Batsel Jr. during the meeting.