KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Two new parking decks in the expanded State Street Garage opened Tuesday morning.
The City invested $11 million to construct the two new decks. The expanded State Street Garage now accommodates about 1,600 vehicles.
“The garage expansion is a huge milestone,” Mayor Madeline Rogero said. “We’ve created 570 much-needed new parking spaces in the heart of downtown. We appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding since the work began last fall.”
Some smaller-scale work remains to be done at State Street Garage in the coming weeks.
"The biggest task is an upgrade to the Clinch Avenue entrance, which is expected to remain closed through July," a release from the city said.
The Union Avenue and State Street entrances and exits are open and the State Street entrance was widened and realigned.
Crews will also be caulking, installing entrance canopies, repairing sidewalks around the garage and adding landscaping.
According to the city, there are now more than 10,500 public parking spaces in the downtown area.
These garages and surface lots offer free parking on nights and weekends.
In 2013, an initial $6.1 million expansion of the State Street Garage added a deck and 240 spaces.
The City partnered with Walnut Street Garage LLC in 2013 and 2014 to build a privately-owned garage at the corner of Summer Place and Locust Street. The garage offers more than 1,000 free night and weekend parking spaces.
City officials said the immediate downtown core alone, there are more than 4,500 garage parking spaces. That includes spaces at four City-owned garages – the State Street, Market Square, Main Avenue and Locust Street garages – and the KUB-owned Promenade and the privately-owned Walnut Street Garage.
"Moving out to the edge of downtown, more free parking on nights and weekends is available," a release from the city said. "There are more than 950 parking spaces available at Knox County’s Dwight Kessel Garage, 800 spaces at the privately-owned Riverwalk garage and lots, 56 spaces on the rear deck of the City County Building (open to the public after 5 p.m. weekdays and on weekends), and 2,500 spaces at the City-owned Knoxville Civic Auditorium and Coliseum garages."
There are a number of city-owned surface lots as well – 190 spaces on West Jackson Avenue, another 230 on East Jackson, and 170 near World’s Fair Park, just to name some of the larger lots.