City Manager Joshua Smith said there have been some internal conversations about Armstead Park’s parking lot, whether to install meters or have signs that state vehicles can only park there for a couple of hours, especially as additional businesses are opening, such as the nearby Rossville Flats development within the next month that features apartments and retail spaces.
“It’s probably going to put some additional pressure on some of those lots,” he said. “We just want to make sure people aren’t parking there aren’t parking there for like a day or two days or three days. It cannot be treated as long-term parking.”
Smith said the administration would work with the Engineering Department to determine the best course of action with parking enforcement, which would likely be applied to the parking lot the city plans to construct at 335 Main St., directly across from Rossville Flats.
Demolition equipment has been mobilized to the property to raze the former Legacy Martial Arts Academy building in order to make a 23,245-square-foot standalone parking lot that will be adjacent to the planned Agave & Rye. There will be 52 parking spaces, which includes two ADA spots and two electric vehicle charging spaces.
Planning Director Liz Hayden said the lot will have two variances, a 24-foot-wide drive lane width (a foot narrower than what’s required), and there will not be a 6-foot-tall fence surrounding the lot. There will be entrances off Main and E streets, and Agave and Rye will have an easement to this lot, but it will not be exclusive to the restaurant.
Smith said as far as parking enforcement of the lot ― whether that’s signs with traffic enforcement monitoring, meters, or a parking kiosk ― it won’t be longer than a few hours.
Construction on the parking lot will begin soon, Smith said, with the demolition of the building.
“Once the demolition is complete, this will allow the city to proceed with the public parking lot improvement,” he said.
Hamilton officials have worked with the developer of the restaurant, as well as Agave & Rye’s owner, which will lease the building. Once the city completes its project, the Agave & Rye project can begin, which has been delayed from its original timeline.
“The delay in construction was due to several issues, including finding a new developer, when the original developer had other obligations that did not allow them to proceed in a timely fashion,” said Smith. “The net result is we anticipate a June 2024 opening of Agave & Rye.”
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