Parking Numbers: The low-down on down-low math

From the moment the project was unveiled, people have been questioning the number of new parking spots the developers were promising. A look at zoning shows the projections to be wildly optimistic. But the developers say the empty-nesters and young singles they expect as renters will not own as many cars as anticipated in the code, and the engineer, Dennis Larios, says they’ll be asking for a variance. The developers have said they expect anywhere from 200 to 350 new tenants.

The relevant code: § 405-34 Off-street parking and loading. Scroll to letter J to see the requirements.

The website says the Kingstonian will contain 8,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space. For the chart below, assume 1,000 sq ft for a bar, 1,000 sq ft for a restaurant, and 6,000 square feet for retail stores.

With 420 spots in the new garage, and 305 required for the Kingstonian, that leaves 115 for the community, which is considerably less than the 138 spots currently available in the lot below N. Front St. (The lot nominally contains 140 spots, but two are not usable because they are located on the exit to the Fair Street Extension.) 

In addition to disputing rosy projections about new parking spots, Kingstonians have wondered about prices at the new garage. Right now, residents pay $100 a year to park in the lot, and daily visitors pay $.75 an hour.  

It’s a given that the new garage would cost more.

According to various online garage cost calculators, including this site, the average cost to build a parking garage is around $9 million for a garage of 145,000 square feet. Assuming 420 spots at a high end of average – 350 sq ft per car, a figure gleaned from this site, this comes to just a hair over 145,000 square feet.

For some reason, the City of Kingston had calculated that building a garage would cost more than $20 million. The reason for the discrepancy was not immediately clear. It was also unclear whether the quality of the soil would add extra building costs. The site is former marshland.

How much revenue can a parking garage bring in? Assume monthly revenue of $60 for 420 spaces, that amounts to $302,000 a year, which makes for a payback time of 30 years.

The developers have said they’ll ask for a tax break known as a PILOT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) to last until they’ve paid off the garage. PILOTs are available for durations of 10 or 15 years from the IDA (Industrial Development Agency). Anything longer is known as a deviated PILOT and requires the additional approval of taxing jurisdictions such as school districts.

In this video of the June 3 meeting, at 47:40 the parking discussing begins.

The Kingston Comprehensive Plan Strategy 9.3.4 calls for promoting “smarter and more attractive public and private parking lot design.

“Such design should incorporate sustainable green infrastructure such as bio swales, rain gardens, and tree planting islands that are not curbed and are designed to receive stormwater. For areas of lower traffic the use of porous pavement, grasscrete, or paving stone should be considered as an alternative to asphalt.”

It was not known whether the developers have incorporated these suggestions or whether they were even feasible given the charateristics of the soil.