As a marathon runner, nuclear engineer Dennis Lundy doesn't break a sweat walking the six blocks from the Finley Stadium parking to where he often works in TVA's downtown Chattanooga office complex.
"I enjoy the walk, and it's far less than the mile and a half I used to walk when I worked in downtown Knoxville," the 59-year-old contract worker said.
But the Tennessee Valley Authority wants closer parking options for Mr. Lundy and more than 3,000 other TVA and Cigna Corp. employees and contractors who work in the complex. The 25-year-old facility, originally designed to encourage car pooling or bus ridership among employees, has no parking of its own.
But as TVA seeks to replace the vacating Cigna Corp. as a tenant in one of its four buildings later this year, the federal utility wants more parking near its 1 million-square-foot power headquarters.
Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield, who pledged two years ago to provide up to 1,000 more parking spaces for TVA and other downtown workers and visitors, said last week he would like to partner with TVA, Hamilton County government, Republic Parking System or others to construct a 1,000-space parking garage near the TVA offices. More parking is needed to help fill vacant downtown offices and to upgrade the aging Patten Towers, which lacks parking needed for a condominium conversion, Littlefield said.
But plans for a new garage to fulfill Littlefield's commitment remain parked, at least for now, because of lingering fiscal and political obstacles.
Last week, the City Council delayed approval of the city's capital budget over concerns about the $6.5 million the mayor put in the budget for part of a new garage.
"I just don't know that this is a good fiscal move in this economy," said City Councilwoman Deborah Scott, one of four council members who forced the delay in approving the mayor's spending plans.
PDF: City of Chattanooga and TVA agreement Proposed sites for new garageCity and TVA proposed in 2008 building a garage on the Civic Forum site on block bounded by Market, 10th, Broad and 11th streets.City is considering reviving plans for a Trade Center garage expansion above loading area along Chestnut Street north of 13th Street.CARTA is considering building a parking garage at Walnut Street and Riverfront Parkway, if funding can be secured.Downtown parking around TVA officesTrade Center parking garage between Carter and Chestnut streets, 1,052 spaces for monthly fee of $65 to $68.Chattanoogan parking garage between the Chattanoogan and Chestnut street, 1,005 spaces for monthly fee of $65.EPB parking garage in the 900 block of Market Street, 510 spaces for monthly fee of $75Surface lot on former Civic Forum site in the 1000 block of Market Street, 148 spaces for monthly fee of $85CARTA North parking garage at the Chattanooga Choo Choo on Market Street, 600 spaces for monthly fee of $60CARTA South parking garage at Broad and Third streets, 543 spaces for monthly fee of $44Tallan parking garage behind the Bicentennial Library, 305 spaces in garage and 152 spaces on surface lot, monthly fee of $80IBM parking garage in the 300 block of West Sixth Street, 787 spaces for monthly fee of $85River Pier parking at Chestnut and Second streets, 368 spaces at a monthly fee of $80Sources: Republic Parking, Carter Street Corp., RiverCity Co.TVA offices at a glanceSize: More than 1 million square feet built in four connecting six-story buildingsLocation: Between Market and Chestnut streets and 11th and 12 streets downtownHistory: Built by TVA in 1986, the buildings were sold to a real estate partnership for tax purposes. But TVA is repurchasing the complex.Staff: About 2,600 TVA employees and contractors work in the complex. Cigna Corp., leases 180,000 square feet and has had as many as 1,100 employees in its space.
Andraé McGary, the City Council member who represents the downtown area, said last week's vote "wasn't necessarily a rejection of the idea."
"But I need more time to talk with my constituents and consider this proposal," he said.
TVA Executive Vice President Rob Manning said the utility is willing to share in the costs of a new complex. But he said TVA agreed to stay downtown two years ago when it was considering a move to Hixson, in part, because the city agreed to try to improve parking around the TVA complex.
"It's just very hard to find parking in this part of town," Manning said.
Downtown realignment
The push for more parking comes during a time of economic and office reshuffling that has actually cut the number of office workers in the central business district.
Last year, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, the largest private employer in Chattanooga, opened its $300 million corporate campus for more than 4,000 employees atop Cameron Hill. BlueCross previously owned or leased space in 10 buildings in downtown Chattanooga and at the Eastgate Town Center in Brainerd.
TVA has trimmed hundreds of jobs from its downtown offices over the past decade. Cigna Corp., which helped fill that void by leasing space in the TVA office complex for the past 12 years, is preparing to vacate its lease and shift workers to other offices downtown and in East Brainerd.
Littlefield insists now is the time to act to take advantage of lower construction costs and to help recruit new businesses to fill downtown vacancies. With Cigna's planned relocation in December, at least eight downtown buildings will be largely or totally vacant.
"We have a lot of square footage of buildings downtown, and if we want it to fill up, we need to provide more parking," Littlefield said.
Downtown boosters insist the city investment in parking is part of the role of local government to provide the infrastructure upon which the community can thrive.
"I think parking is one of those necessities you have to provide," said Kim White, president of RiverCity Co., a nonprofit, downtown development agency. "It's a critical part of infrastructure and part of what we have to do as a community to get employees to come downtown."
Chattanooga has succeeded over the past three decades by investing in its downtown in tough times to capture the benefits when the economy recovers, Littlefield said. The trade center, The Chattanoogan hotel, Tennessee Aquarium and other downtown projects were built during economic downturns and have helped transform the city during better times, Littlefield said.
"Bad economic times don't last forever, and during those times you often can buy and build at a lower cost and be ready when the economy bounces back," Littlefield said. "If you wait around until the economy is humming, prices and costs are much higher and you may miss opportunities that become available."
Where to build
A new parking deck, estimated to cost $13 million to $15 million, could be built on either the surface parking lot in the 1000 block of Market Street or next to the Trade Center parking garage at Chestnut and 13th streets, Littlefield said.
In a three-page letter of intent Littlefield sent to TVA in January 2008, the city pledged to help build a parking garage and suggested the former Civic Forum lot just north of the TVA office complex would be an ideal site for a multistory facility.
The Civic Forum site owned by Republic Parking System President Jim Berry was later targeted as a potential location for a new federal building. But security requirements for new federal facilities in the post 9/11 era may rule out that site in the 1000 block of Market Street, Littlefield said.
Littlefield said a parking garage on the former Civic Forum site also could help spur the revitalization of the aging Patten Towers across the street. The 221-unit apartment complex opened as the Patten Hotel in 1908. The 11-story building lacks any parking and was forced to file for bankruptcy in 2005.
The other site being considered for more parking - the trade center parking garage - already includes foundation supports and architectural plans for a 1,000-space addition along Chestnut Street south of 13th Street. Mike Shuford, executive director for the Carter Street Corp., that manages the trade center, said the additional parking was considered when the trade center was expanded a decade ago. But those plans were delayed to limit cost.
The plans developed by Derthick Henley & Wilkerson call for the extra parking to be built above the trade center's loading zone. Such an expansion of the existing 1,052-space parking garage at the trade center could use the same pedestrian walkway that connects the garage to TVA's complex across the street.
Economics of parking
TVA provides $50 a month to each employee who works in its Chattanooga Office Complex for parking, car pooling or bus transportation.
The major public parking garages in downtown Chattanooga charge $65 to $85 a month for daytime parking.
A new parking garage is expected to cost about $15,000 per space, Littlefield said. Even with the city's favorable borrowing rates, paying the debt on a 1,000-space parking lot requires more than $850,000 a year just for principal and interest. Maintenance and operating costs for such a garage would inflate the costs even more.
CARTA also began discussing last week the idea of building a parking garage along Walnut Street near the river to help improve parking on the north end of downtown. But the transit authority has no money for such a project at this time.
"You've got to have some public assistance because these type of facilities don't usually carry their full financial weight," Littlefield said.
But the mayor said more parking around the TVA complex could help bring more jobs to downtown, upgrade the value of Patten Towers and lure more customers and retailers to Warehouse Row.
"Those are the kind of benefits that also help underwrite it," he said.
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Article: CARTA eyes more parking
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