City Council: Geneva Will Get Third Level of Commuter Parking Lot

The city of Geneva gave a green light Monday for a third deck to the commuter parking facility across Third Street from the Geneva Metra station.

On Monday night, the city's Committee of the Whole and full City Council said OK to execute a grant agreement with Metra that will pay the whole tab—as much as $3.5 million—for the construction and design work.

That's the good news. And it is very good news for the longterm parking needs of commuters at the Geneva Metra station and for Geneva taxpayers.

The bad news is the same as with any construction project. It will take six to nine months to complete the work, and the commuter parking facility will be closed for the duration.

Geneva Public Works Director Dan Dinges said he hopes construction would start in September. The most likely parking alternative during that time period will be a park-and-ride option through Pace.

City Administrator Mary McKittrick said the third level will add about 160 spaces for commuters. The lot is a pay-as-you-go facility and does not include spaces for residents with a monthly parking permit.

One of the reasons Geneva landed the Metra grant is that Metra is adding a third set of tracks from about the Fox River to Peck Road. That construction will take away about 106 existing parking spaces, McKittrick said.

The city had been lobbying for a third deck since the parking facility was conceived. The first two levels were completed in 2007, but a third deck wasn't in the cards because funding wasn't available at the time, McKittrick said.

On Monday night, the council also authorized a professional services agreement with Walker Parking Consultants for design and construction of the third level of the parking facility.

In other action of back-to-back meetings of the Committee of the Whole and the full City Council, aldermen voted on a number of measures, including the following:

• Allowed a special use that allows Chef James Place to continue to run a restaurant on Stevens Street in a part of town that's zoned for light industrial use.
• Passed a resolution approving the site plan for the Living Well Cancer Resource Center at the southwest corner of Williamsburg Avenue and West State Street. The cancer center already had celebrated with a .
• Made a text amendment in the B-3 Business District, which allows professional offices as a special use for below-ground-level businesses on Third Street between Campbell and South streets.