Parking garage to assist 2nd Ave. commerce (April 1 edition)

Officials from the Niwot Finishing Commission (NFC) have focused their attention recently on the matter of parking in Niwot.

The Niwot Fixers League (NFL) and the Niwot Bidness Association (NBA) began plans last year for a 50-space parking lot on a two-acre parcel along the railroad opposite Murray Street.

While everything was looking to fall into place for that plan, the NFC has joined the picture claiming that 50 parking spaces will not even cause a dent in the problem, let alone a door ding.

NFC president Stan Doffich said that the proposal is now a multi-story garage that will have roughly 250 parking spaces.

“Since there isn’t enough room to build out on this lot, we have to build up,” Doffich said. “That’s really the only solution. We waited around long enough, we’re going to solve the parking problem once and for all.”

Preliminary surveying is slated to begin soon, with work on Phase II starting April 1.

This will be the five-story section that will take up about half of the 1,100 foot-long parcel. It will include stairs and an elevator, along with being fully ADA-compliant, but that’s not all.

Casey Needzit with Another Level Parking (ALP), the company contracted to build the structure, said that they’re throwing in a surprise for thrill-seekers and those in a rush.

“There will be a zip line that runs from the top level down to the intersection at Second Avenue,” Needzit said. “For an extra $3, people who park in the garage can get down there quick and not have to waste time and energy walking.”

Murray Street homeowner Helen Hywater has been vocally opposed to any sort of development on that lot that’s basically an extension of her yard towards the foothills.

“I paid an extra $80,000 for this house to have a view of the mountains,” Hywater said. “Now I’m going to have to look at the front end of some Audi with personalized plates like ‘MKN MNY’ or something like that.”

But Needzit and Doffich have a plan to dispel concerns about losing the breathtaking view.

“The whole east side of the structure will be concrete,” Casey Needzit said. “We have a great high-resolution panoramic quadruple-framed camera and an amazing inkjet printer. What we’ll do is take a photograph of the view as it is now, then print it onto the concrete.

“People across the street or even right up next to the garage will not be able to tell the difference between the photo and the actual view.”

Even that compromise still irks some local residents. Sheila Tack with the Boulder Bird Buddies (BBB) said that if the photo on the structure looks half as real as Needzit says, many birds could die by unknowingly flying into it.

“It’s a no-brainer that it’s just a horrible idea in the first place,” Tack said. “Shouldn’t they leave all sides of the garage open for birds to have access? Parking garages are crucial nesting sites for our native pigeon species and migratory birds.”

Opposition aside, business owners are scrambling to find more merchandise to sell and restaurants are expanding menus to cater to a wider variety and larger numbers.

Some guesses in a sales revenue increases range from zero up to 600 percent following the completion of Phase I in the fall.

This first phase comes after the second phase because it will be a six-story portion attached to the north end of the five-story garage. This would bring the total of parking spaces closer to 500.

“We all know you can’t please everybody,” Doffich said. “But now they’ll at least have a place to park while they wait for us to try. In (the NFC’s) mind, that’s a win-win. For us at least.”

Parking will be $4.20 for the first two hours, then $2.10 for each additional hour. There will also be a surcharge of $1.50 for Niwot residents, an effort to encourage locals to ride bicycles or jog to their destination.