Anyone doing business in downtown Noblesville knows finding a parking place can often be challenging. Many people visiting the Hamilton County Seat are there from other places in the county, visiting county offices and courts.
My news-gathering partner, the Hamilton County Reporter, has a front page story in the Wednesday edition on plans the Hamilton County Commissioners have to construct a new downtown Noblesville parking garage with 430 parking spaces and the design will allow an additional 150 spaces to be constructed later, if the county chooses to add a fourth floor in the future.
The garage would be located east of Eighth Street on both sides of Clinton Street. The commissioners indicated Clinton Street will remain in place and be covered by the structure’s first floor.
Documents released by the county Monday say the project will be a public-private partnership with the intent to fulfill parking needs for county employees and make current county-owned property available for an economic development project.
The commissioners said they have been contacted by developers who have an interest in the county-owned parking lot located on the east bank of the White River south of State Road 32. That location currently serves as a large parking lot for county employees.
Although commissioners would not identify who, they say one developer would like to bring 200 market rate apartments, along with first-floor retail and parking to the riverfront property.
Commissioner Christine Altman said funds used from the potential sale of the of the county-owned riverfront parking lot would be redirected towards funding the parking garage.
In addition to the new parking garage, the county will ask Noblesville to transfer ownership of the public parking lot, located on the north side of Logan Street just south of Eighth Street, to Hamilton County.
Altman and Commissioner Mark Heirbrandt both described how State Road 32 (Conner Street) represents a dangerous physical barrier between county offices and available parking. Moving parking north of the courthouse and Judicial Center eliminates the need for pedestrians crossing one of Noblesville’s busiest roadways.
Officials hope to break ground on the new garage in the spring of 2020 with completion in the fall of 2021.