WILMINGTON — Additional parking will soon be available for public use, closer to concerts and events in the northern portion of downtown.
READ MORE: Wilmington City Council to save $90K with new parking vendor
The city’s $68-million purchase of the Thermo Fisher campus on Front Street came with a 1,022-space parking deck. City council approved Tuesday the deck will be open for events at Live Oak Bank Pavilion beginning Aug. 6, which can bring in up to 7,000 people or so per show.
It will continue to be used solely for special events and Thermo Fisher tenants until early fall, when new parking technology will be installed. Special event rates will be $20, according to spokesperson Dylan Lee.
New technology has to be installed before the deck will open for daily public use. The gated technology now utilized in the deck is outdated and doesn’t support public paid-parking options.
The city is installing pay stations throughout the deck and will have it accessible via the Text2Park app. Rates are still being finalized, Lee said.
“We are anticipating this to be a much cheaper and economical solution versus a gated parking environment,” he added.
The Thermo Fisher campus also has a 240-space parking lot directly underneath the 12-story office building. Its use will remain restricted to building tenants and city employees.
Similar to other city-owned lots, Pivot Parking will manage the parking program. It is anticipated to begin services within 30 to 60 days, based on the city’s transition plan to move into the Thermo Fisher building. Service fees paid to Pivot Parking will be based on a flat fee and reimbursable operating budget.
Over the course of five years, the city anticipates a total operating budget of $3.3 million and overall management fee cost of $574,446 paid to Pivot.
The city council passed a contract amendment for fiscal year 2024, paying $434,089 to Pivot for operating the parking deck and an additional $153,868 for managing the lot underneath the office building.
Two optional two-year contract extensions are included in the agreement between the city and Pivot.
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