A new four-story, 521-space parking garage to bolster access to St. Armands Circle received its first endorsement from the City Commission on Monday night.
The $15 million project would add another 334 parking spaces by the end of 2018 to the city-owned lot at North Adams and Madison drives on the northeast side of the busy tourist district. Officials hope it will alleviate some of the squeeze on the notoriously difficult parking around the popular shops and restaurants there.
“We have a lot of congestion in there and I think this will tackle that,” Vice Mayor Suzanne Atwell said. “I’ve been a big proponent of parking meters, because I think it’s what grown-up cities do. That St. Armands takes the lead on this is huge.”