A proposal to build a $10.9 million underground parking garage next to the state Capitol building won preliminary approval Thursday, along with two additional parking lots north of the grounds.
The total price tag for the parking improvements endorsed by members of a Capitol Preservation Board subcommittee was just under $14 million. The new facilities must still be approved by the full board, which meets April 26.
None of the new facilities are part of the $200 million renovation of the Capitol building and grounds now under way. The four-year project to shore up the 90-year-old building against earthquakes is scheduled for completion in late 2007.
Adding the three lots now means all of the work at the Capitol Complex will be completed at that time, David Hart, the board's executive director, told the subcommittee. "We'll be done for the opening and done until we tear down the State Office Building," Hart said.
There are no firm plans to replace the relatively modern office building that sits behind the Capitol. But the parking proposals reviewed by the subcommittee take into account eventually replacing it.
Parking at the Capitol always has been a problem for both the 1,000-plus employees and elected officials who work there as well as for the public, especially during the annual 45-day legislative session. The massive renovation project has made it worse.
The question, of course, is how to pay for the additional parking. The subcommittee, whose members include legislators, seemed supportive of just dipping into the $50 million already appropriated for the renovation project and asking the Legislature for more money next session.
The other option would be to request the nearly $14 million in a special session of the Legislature. It is not clear, however, when the next special session might be now that Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. has decided to cancel plans for one in mid-May to deal with tax reform.
House Minority Leader Ralph Becker, D-Salt Lake, said spending the money available now and coming back to the Legislature does carry some risk. But Rep. Wayne Harper, R-West Jordan, said he didn't see that as a problem since legislative leaders sit on the full board.
The two-level underground parking garage would be for employees only, but the two above-ground lots located northeast of the Capitol building would be for visitors. One of those lots is already used by employees but would be remodeled to be accessible to the public.
The second lot could be built nearby or on property above the Capitol owned by Salt Lake City and occupied by a pair of water towers. The towers would remain under a proposal from University of Utah students, but a small park as well as parking would be added.
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