Redmond looks to add more parking downtown

The city of Redmond is looking to expand parking in the downtown area and keep up with increasing parking demands by adding new options.

The Redmond Downtown Urban Renewal Agency Committee discussed these potential changes at a meeting on Monday night.

The city is looking to purchase a vacant lot on the corner of Fourth Street and Evergreen Avenue.

The lot would add 30 to 40 new parking spots near the downtown area, which has seen many changes in recent years, including the development of the new hotel and 18 new businesses downtown in the past year.

Redmond Urban Renewal Program Manager Chuck Arnold said the site was identified through a survey and would also provide added benefits to other types of commuters.

“This is the connection for our homestead canal trail, which is the bicycle and pedestrian trail that goes throughout or community,” Arnold said. “And the downtown section actually goes on downtown streets. And so, with the acquisition of this property and the development as a parking lot, they’ll give us an opportunity to put in sidewalks along there, to add to that pedestrian connection.”

The city is tentatively planning to purchase the lot for $180,000, plus closing costs. Arnold said they hope to have the parking lot and trail connection completed by fall of 2020.

That’s not the only spot the city might potentially add more downtown parking.

Since Redmond’s city hall moved to their new location on Ninth Street, the city has been working to redevelop the old city hall location.

Many developers have looked at the old city hall, located on Seventh Street and Forest Avenue, to consider developing it into housing or possibly a mixed-use location., with a combination of homes and shops.

But with no feasible options in hand at the moment, the city could look to turn the location into a parking lot, at least for now.

Arnold said this could be an option that serves a purpose for the near future.

“A parking lot could be a placeholder, something that would be there to fulfill the need for the next five to 10 years, and wait for the possibility of redevelopment to occur on that site,” Arnold said. “It doesn’t make it so redevelopment can’t happen. It still leaves the options open for the community to redevelop that site down the road.”

Arnold added the city is still open to developers coming forward, if they do want to invest in the old city hall site.

Arnold said the city is still in the planning stages of turning the site into a parking lot and the project could still be a ways off.