Dunedin considers building downtown parking garage
By Breanne Williams
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Feb 24, 2023

Dunedin is considering building a downtown parking garage as visitors flock to the city in record numbers.

City commissioners held a workshop on Feb. 21 to discuss Dunedin's growing parking issue. Bob Ironsmith, director of economic and housing development, said the city is exploring whether to build a three- or four-story garage on a lot the city bought in 2022 for $4 million. The city had leased the lot at 362 Scotland St. since 2008; it has 68 parking spaces.

The 0.77-acre site is in the downtown core and is near Main Street and the Pinellas Trail.

“I don’t think we have a choice, and I think we would be very shortsighted if we don’t move forward,” Mayor Julie Ward Bujalski said.

A parking review from 2009 to 2020 showed a drastic increase in demand for parking in Dunedin. In 2009, there were 542 parking spots downtown. In 2015, there were 821. By 2020, that had grown to 1,260 spots. However, the city still doesn't enough parking to meet demand.

Staff recommended considering a $7 million, three-story structure that would add around 174 parking spaces. The four-story structure would have 256 spaces and cost more than $10 million.

Staff also recommends that the structure is compatible with downtown and incorporates elements like public art. Ironsmith said the garage could potentially be pre-wired to allow for future adaptive reuse potential.

The community redevelopment area master plan calls for a second parking garage, and Ironsmith said the garage would keep the city “up to speed” on the needs for the downtown core.

A tentative timeline presented to commissioners shows the city engaging with a parking garage consultant by this fall. Design and construction will begin in spring 2024, and the project could be complete by winter 2024.

The project will go before commissioners again on April 4 along with several other proposed capital projects.