LOVELAND — Loveland is hoping a proposed parking garage can ease congestion in the city's popular downtown area.
The garage would be located by City Hall in a gravel parking lot the city owns. It would cost $6 million to build, but Loveland hopes it can get help from a federal grant that would pay for $3 million. According to renderings made available to WCPO, the garage would be two stories, have 270 parking spaces as well as charging stations for electric vehicles, solar panels and access to Ohio 48. The structure would help ease the downtown parking squeeze by the Loveland Trail and in downtown.
"It would put you in an area very centrally located in the city," Loveland City Manager David Kennedy said. "It would be extremely safe, it would be well lit. It's something that would have bike corrals and so on and so forth."
The garage would make life easier for downtown businesses, who hear regularly from customers about the difficulty of finding a place to park.
"You do hear customers come in and say they have trouble finding spots," Hometown Cafe owner Jimmy Hooper said. "More spots would definitely be better for the area."
Loveland tried last year to get a parking structure built, but failed to get the federal dollars it hoped. Kennedy said he's cautiously optimistic. He said the rules are different now and the grant is focused on recreation on tourism.
Kennedy said the grant application should be submitted within the next few days. If accepted, the city expects the parking garage to be completed in 2023.
