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SCHENECTADY — A popular downtown parking lot is poised to be refurbished next year.
The Clinton North parking lot is set to receive an estimated $805,000 makeover in the spring that will include a new surface, striping, sidewalks and lighting. The parking lot, located at 128 Clinton St., is one of 12 owned by the Schenectady County Metroplex Development Authority.
“This is a very important part of our parking infrastructure downtown,” said Metroplex Chairman Ray Gillen at a meeting of the development authority earlier this month.
Gillen said the 56-spot lot was last upgraded in 2005 and many of the lot’s features have become outdated. Upgrades are expected to begin in the spring following a bidding process that is expected to be completed this winter.
A public hearing on the expenditures has been set for next month.
The parking lot plays a pivotal role in recent development downtown, where parking has become an issue as new apartment buildings and mixed-use development continues to crop up.
In addition to serving businesses in the downtown corridor, including those located on the Jay Street pedestrian path, the parking lot is used by residents in nearby apartment buildings, including the new State and Clinton Apartments complex, at 501 State St., and 22-unit Fitzgerald complex at 144 Clinton St. Both complexes are owned by Redburn Development.
“It’s probably one of our busiest lots,” Gillen said. “This is an important parking lot we need to do a makeover on.”
The project comes at a time when demand for parking downtown has continued to increase.
Parking revenue in 2022 is expected to reach $809,000 in this year, a $159,108 — or 24% — increase from 2021, when revenue was $649,892, according to Metroplex’s 2023 parking budget.
Monthly parking passes also saw an increase demand this past year, growing from 1,559 to 1,674, a 7% increase.
Demand is expected to increase next year, with parking revenue projected to reach $829,000 in 2023, according to the development authority’s parking budget, which was approved this month.
The project includes a complete asphalt replacement and restriping, as well as a new sidewalk on the north end of the lot that will lead into the pedestrian path on Jay Street, according to project plans.
Plans also call for widening the lot’s entrance, new signage and the installation of a parking meter and the four electric vehicle charging stations. Updates will also include lighting bollards with LED pole lighting.
“The project aims to better integrate the lot with the redevelopment that is occurring on State, Jay, Clinton and around City Hall,” the project plans read.
The upgrades are expected to cost $690,000, including a 15% contingency. An additional $115,000 will be used for additional professional services to over see the design, bid and construction, bringing to the project’s final cost to $805,000.
This year, Metroplex completed a $476,000 project to upgrade its downtown parking garage that in included improving ADA accessibility, painted stairwells and drainage improvements.
It won’t be the last time that Metroplex overhauls its parking in the coming years.
The development authority, back in February, adopted a five-year plan to improve access to parking in the downtown area, including $1.7 million proposal to update its surface lots.
Contact reporter Chad Arnold at: [email protected] or by calling 518-395-3120.
Categories: -News-, News, Schenectady, Schenectady County
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Here’s an improvement: Go back to one or two hours free.
It looks like favored developers get reduced or eliminated parking space requirements, and then Metroplex spends money to try to fix the parking crisis for the tenants. How can a Metroplex lot be used by residents consistently and at a reasonable cost?
Metroplex is a scam, a shell game if you will. They get money from the county and state yet they finance businesses and development. Who wants their tax money to be used to finance private business? They are terrible decision-makers as far as I can see other than certain people getting bids to work on these things. Where are an in-depth investigation of them and their books? For twenty-three years they have been operating with impunity.