The Albany Parking Authority has scheduled a public input meeting to discuss the future of Riverfront Garage.
Authority's Executive Director Matthew Peter expects discussion will include plans for implementation of an initial feasibility study and collect feedback from the community as to the fate of the 40-year-old garage situated behind Kiernan Plaza, a former train station located on Broadway. According to the Authority, the garage has 814 parking spaces that go for $135 a month each.
“The bonds that paid for the garage are set to be paid off in late 2025," said Peter. So the question that's emerging is, is what's there what we want it to be? As repairs are becoming more and more expensive do we want to keep repairing it forever? Do we want to build new? If we do decide to build new, what other type of things can we do to make sure that it is interworking and interlocking and connecting with the various pedestrian infrastructure of the various streets, as well as how can we connect to the waterfront.”
Peter says the study is in line with Mayor Kathy Sheehan's vision to create opportunities downtown and also connect to pedestrian infrastructure.
“And the Riverfront Garage itself, basically, is already facing the water," Peter said. "It's at the part of 787, where it's near is already sort of boulevard or the boulevard level. And it also interconnects with Tricentennial Park here and in Plaza, the Jennings Landing Pedestrian Bridge. And then it's also connected via pedestrian paths to Maiden Lane, Columbia, and in some various other streets that are very important to connect.”
Peter envisions a tie-in with the recently completed Skyway and a future public transit center. His office has already received some feedback from the public.
“There's an initial concern, obviously, of making sure that people who park at the garage will have a place to park regardless of what happens," said Peter. "And I think that's a fair concern. But a lot of people, myself included, see that this is a large, sort of rectangular building site with views of the Hudson, and, you know, potential to really connect with the waterfront surrounded by, you know, a really growing residential market. So the question is, you know, at least how I look at it is, and how I'm getting trying to get feedback is, what can we do to get people to the waterfront, right, like some people feel there's a gap, the Skyway is helping to close that gap.”
Peter notes that during the upcoming meeting the consultants leading the study will review its goals, the existing conditions of the Riverfront Garage, and discuss the future possibility of this site with the community.
“What we're looking to do is get a finished version out to the public by late first quarter in 2023," Peter said. "So we're thinking probably around February, give or take, unless there's some other things we want to look at. But we're looking at sort of a February completion date on that. And that's important, because we can then share it. This project is partially paid for by the New York State ESD [Empire State Development]. And we have a grant from them to pay for about 50% of the project. And so we wanted to make sure that if this is something that we want to, you know, proceed with or if there's some really positive feasibility on it, given the feedback we get from the public and the stakeholders, you know, what are the next steps, we want to take that to the state and to our federal partners and to other committee members and see what we can do to really continue the progress.”
The firstpublic meeting will be held Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. at The Blake Annex, 1 Steuben Plaza, with a second to be scheduled.
