Discussions are preliminary at this point; however, the City of Platteville may be selling a downtown parking lot to make room for a $5 million private development. According to the city staff report, Stevens Construction Corporation is interested in purchasing the Pine Street parking lot, which is located east of the Platteville Post Office. The lot borders Bonson Street on the west and Fourth Street on the east.
According to the report, the city adopted a downtown revitalization plan in January 2011, which included several recommendations for redeveloping downtown properties, among other items. One recommendation was to consider redeveloping some city-owned properties, primarily the parking lots, to be used as combined parking structures and commercial or housing space.
The proposed redevelopment would include one multi-use building that would contain apartments, commercial space, and a parking structure. The lot currently provides 51 public parking spaces, 26 of which are available for 24-hour parking. The remaining 25 parking spots have a two-hour limit, including four handicapped spaces.
According to the report, "The design of the building is not finalized, but it is anticipated that the building will contain approximately 76 vehicle parking spaces within a two-level parking structure on the lower portion of the building. Due to the slope of the site, one parking level will be accessible from Fourth Street and another level will be accessible from Bonson Street. The building will also contain one retail/commercial space of about 1,500 square feet on the ground floor, probably accessible from Fourth Street and Pine Street. The upper three floors of the building will contain 34 to 37 apartment units, with a total of 100 to 110 bedrooms."
Approximately half of the parking spaces within the structure will be available for lease by the general public. The remaining spaces will be used by building occupants. The proposal also includes seven or eight surface parking spaces.
The report also stated this property will be located in Tax Increment Finance district seven. "It is anticipated that this project will receive financial assistance from the district, with the idea that the additional taxes generated by the project will benefit the district and the city," according to the report.
The issue was in front of the city's plan commission on Monday, Feb. 6 with no action taken. The commission is expected to discuss the proposal again before making a recommendation, either in favor or against the proposal, to the Platteville Common Council.