This Village has to wake up to the math. A $9mm garage that increases parking by 140 spaces cost about $64,000 per space. If one were to assume that every one of those incremental spaces (because incremental space is what we are paying for) was filled 256 day per year, (360 less weekends), it would take about 10 years at $25 per space per day just to cover the $9mm construction cost. This is a wild ass assumption in its own right. A few other items to think about- i) we can’t build outdoor bathrooms without going over budget so that $9mm figure is a wish, ii) the math mentioned above does not take into consideration financing, operating and capital costs and iii) the Village should not underestimate the external costs associated with increased traffic in an already congested business district. I would guess that when those costs are realistically added in, this project will create significant deficits that would be funded by the tax payers. Hey, let’s go for it assuming we all know how much the pretty building will cost us and who really benefits from another white elephant.
