However, city officials have recently announced that parking will be free until Oct. 1 as they want to give the public a chance to become familiar with the new parking garage that has been dubbed “Park at the 99,” in relation to its address at 99 Fountain Ave.
“Park at the 99 is a new and very welcome addition to our downtown, and we want to do our part to introduce the convenience of it to the community. We want to give the public a chance to become more familiar with the ease of its use,” said Springfield City Manager Bryan Heck.
“The parking garage is just one facet of the overall progress and growth in our downtown as we continue to make our city an even better place to work, live and play,” he added.
Construction for the garage started last summer and the project is estimated to have cost roughly $7 million. It added 305 parking spaces to the downtown area and the first floor of the structure offers more than 3,000 square feet to be used as retail space.
It had what city officials called a “soft opening of sorts” in May as it was unclear at the time how many people would be using the garage as some businesses in the area had temporarily closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
However, the state began reopening parts of its economy in May and some businesses that had temporarily shuttered their doors have reopened since then.
The parking garage project was a collaborative effort between the city, Clark County, the state as well as Clark State Community College and the Community Improvement Corporation.
City officials say the parking garage is part of a larger plan to better coordinate parking in the downtown area as the city looks to revitalize and increase activity there.
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