City sells parking in downtown

By Collin Gallant November 6, 2018.

Look at downtown Medicine Hat. The city has sold the 53-booth Chokecherry car park located on Second Street SE, but studies of the downtown area show that plenty of parking is still available .– NEWS FILE PHOTO

[email protected] @ CollinGallant

Mum is still the word on what could be reserved for a major retail space in downtown Medicine Hat, but the sale of a municipal parking lot to the new Countrywide Parker furniture owners is raising concerns about space located in the heart of the city.

The sale of Chokecherry Lot, located at 403 Second Street, west of the store and across the esplanade, was approved at the closing price of $ 459,000.

This lot includes 53 surface spaces and will, according to Monday's article, be used to increase the number of parking spaces for a "major redevelopment of the adjacent property of the buyer".

As the news reported last May, the developers are Kidae Kim and Deokki Kim. They had bought the building after a foreclosure procedure at that time, but little information was available about them or about their plans for the old store. furniture that was formerly an OK Economy establishment.

"It's a good question and I do not know," said Mayor Ted Clugston. "I'm not even pulling your leg.

"There are a lot of areas in the downtown area where direct control is zoned, but it is a commercial zoning, the amount of different uses is basically the sky is the limit.

"We have always aimed to see the redevelopment of downtown since the opening of the first shopping center."

Development Commissioner Stan Schwartzenberger told News that the developer was working with the planning department but would not reveal plans for the future of the property.

The city's long-standing goal has been to increase the number of residential housing in the downtown area to increase business and commercial traffic in the area, which has long been known to be congested and infertile after five o'clock in the morning.

See Downtown, page A2

City administrators also took action to dispel the concern that parking was on the verge of diminishing.

A statement ready to be published after Monday's meeting, quotes the City's director of municipal affairs, Grant MacKay, citing municipal studies that public parking is available.

"There are still several underutilized municipal parking lots for the public in the city center," he said.

A new strategic priority established by council after last year's election was to surrender the land held by the city, while taking into account surpluses in relation to the needs of municipalities.

Clugston said the parking sale puts money in the city 's coffers and reinforces the redevelopment of a major property.

"We did some parking studies. Over the last 15 years, there have probably been 10 and there's enough parking in the city center, "said Clugston.

Holders of a Chokecherry Pbad with a permit from December 2018 will be offered a refund or replacement space in the city's downtown lots.

In May, city officials reported that about 40% of Chokecherry's space had been leased on a monthly or annual basis, the lowest of the three surface lands operated.

At Transit Parkade, the 65 covered spaces were occupied and the top floor was 60% blocked by long-term license holders.

The overall portfolio recorded a loss of $ 27,000 in 2017, although all lots, with the exception of the parkade, were slightly profitable.