Glens Falls economic development and planning staff are working on a grant that would fund a “multimodal hub” instead of a simple parking garage in what is now the Elm Street lot, behind the Glens Falls National Bank building on Glen Street.
The plan they are working off of was originally written in 2005, and would see a parking garage on the property, but added to that would likely be regional and local bus stops or a depot, a bike sharing rack, EV charging stations, an electric scooter rack, and possibly an on-demand transit option, such as a short-term car rental. The Trailways bus stop would likely move from the Empire Pizza location on Hudson Avenue to the new building. The project might even include some short-term housing in the building.
“I’m hoping we can revise, modernize and submit” the project to the federal Department of Transportation’s RAISE grant program, said Jeff Flagg, the city’s economic development director. He added that until the grant application is completed, the details are in flux, and even if the project wins support, then exactly what the building looks like and what is contained in it may change.
“We’re trying to coordinate and centralize a variety of downtown transportation options,” he said. It’s the “last mile” transportation that he sees as the problem. Flagg believes a hub would bring various modes of transportation to one location so that person arriving in Glens Falls there could easily find a way to make it to the final location where they want to go somewhere in the city.
The Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity discretionary grant program, formerly the TIGER grant program, has a $1.5 billion budget this year and has funded more than 700 projects to the tune of $9.9 billion since 2010, the DOT website says.
Both Flagg and Jim Thatcher, a consultant with the city, told members of the city’s economic development committee at a meeting Tuesday March 11 that the grant is very competitive and this project may not win.
If approved, Glens Falls’ project would be larger and more expensive than a simple parking garage, but the city’s contribution would likely be less.
A parking garage runs about $30,000 to $35,000 per parking space, or about $10.5 million for a 350 car garage, at the low end of the scale. The city would look to the low end if it finances the entire garage itself using Downtown Revitalization Initiative funds and another grant already received, but they would look to the larger transportation hub if the federal government will support the larger project with the grant.
In December, the city contracted with CT Male on a parking garage feasibility study for the Elm Street lot. That study is still ongoing. Exactly how many parking spaces the city needs is still a question, Flagg said. The estimate has been between 350 and 500 spaces.
[Read more about the garage plan here.]
However, one question that remains is what will happen with the parking garage at 333 Glen Street. That property with Glens Falls’ lone high rise tower, includes a parking garage that has not seen much use during the pandemic, officials have said.
The question remains: just how much parking in the lot will the tower need once sold, and how will that affect parking in the city generally, Flagg said.
The final grant application will not be finished until Thursday April14, the submission deadline, and the city should hear in August whether the grant was approved.