New hotel using 120 parking garage spaces

Danny Gaekwad talks about his vision of his new hotel, a Hilton Garden Inn, on the Ocala Downtown Square.

General public parking access to the downtown Ocala parking garage at 296 Broadway St. has changed with the opening of the new Hilton Garden Inn Hotel.

The downtown garage has a total of a 402 parking spaces. In accordance with an agreement with the city, however, the Hilton is leasing 120 designated spaces for hotel guests.

In 2015, as part of the hotel development contract with the city, the Hilton agreed to lease 120 spaces in the garage upon completion of the hotel property. Effective immediately, traffic cones will section off the west side of the garage for hotel guests on the first, second and roof-top levels of the parking garage. Future plans include signage to be placed at each parking stall indicating the hotel’s reserved spaces; guests will be provided a parking pass issued by the hotel and displayed on the vehicle dashboard.

Visitors to the downtown area may utilize the remaining 282 free spaces in the multi-level garage. Overnight parking is not permitted in the free downtown parking garage spaces.