Efforts to buy the parking lot from Meritex Enterprises failed, prompting the city to file an eminent domain suit this summer. Meritex has sought as much as $6 million for the land, while the city has set aside $1 million for the purchase. The prospect that the court could award Meritex millions of dollars for the property has prompted the city to explore alternatives.
Now the city is looking at building a parking garage for more than 200 cars north of the renovated headquarters. The parking structure would require the demolition of a building on land, for which the city paid $720,000.
The ramp's cost would be added to the more than $20 million the city already is spending on the police headquarters complex, which is at 367 Grove St. just east of Downtown. That cost also includes construction of a new Downtown fire station.
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