Arlington Heights considering expanding downtown parking garage

Arlington Heights officials on Monday approved spending nearly $30,000 to study the feasibility of expanding the village's parking garage on the north side of downtown.

The village owns four public garages in the downtown. The garage on Vail Avenue and the North garage were the first two built, both with about 800 parking spaces, according to village documents.

But, in 2006 the village expanded the Vail Avenue garage both vertically and horizontally to increase its parking capacity to 1,200 spaces.

“The North parking garage bounded by Arlington Heights Road, Eastman Street, Evergreen Avenue and Miner Street is at or beyond capacity from a demand perspective,” a village memo stated. “Additional businesses and other customers requesting to park in the North Garage cannot be accommodated.”

The board on Monday approved a proposal from Carl Walker Inc. for $29,374, plus up to $12,000 additional if geotechnical soil testing is necessary. The money will come from the village's parking fund. The bid from Carl Walker Inc. — a company that has designed more than 1,500 parking structures — was the lowest bid submitted and was $50,000 under the project budget.

The consultant will review the existing space layout and identify any possible modifications to re-stripe more efficiently, review the structural feasibility of adding an additional level or partial level, and evaluate three different plans to expand the garage. One plan would add 48 spaces, another 120 and a third — adding a full additional level of parking — would create at least another 175 parking spaces, officials said.

Consultants will also come up with budget estimates for the project and study the feasibility of a horizontal expansion of the garage to the north.

The village is also in the midst of a $2 million upgrade to its four parking garages for structural maintenance this summer and next.