news-record.com

GREENSBORO - Downtown business owners fought a proposal to lease part of a city parking lot to a developer who hopes to put a 5-story, $3.6 million building at 324 S. Elm St.

Area property and business owners said the proposal - which the City Council members debated after midnight Thursday morning - was unfair to businesses that also need the spaces in the city's South Elm-McGee Street parking lot for their customers.

Tempers flared among audience members as City council members voted to table the issue until their Feb. 3 meeting for further debate. The tense discussion ended with LindBrook Development Services president Jim Marshall rushing out of the meeting in anger - leaving council members worried about the future of the project.

The developers asked the city for an economic development incentive of a $100,000 forgivable loan to purchase a portion of the city parking lot, which is adjacent to the vacant lot they hope to develop.

The developer plans to use the space for outdoor dining.

"To get this development off the ground, this request is critical to our needs," Marshall said.

The developers also asked that the city lease them some of the spaces in the lot for off-street parking.

The developers redesigned the look of the building after some questioned whether it looked too modern for the historic downtown. But it was clear at the council meeting that all the questions about the development had not been resolved.

Neighboring business owners said they were pleased to see new development on their block. But they didn't appreciate the development taking over some of the precious parking spaces.

The lot will lose 15 spaces - four that will be lost totally and 11 that will be leased for use by new building tenants.

"The number one question I am asked by new clients is, ‘Where am I going to park?'" said John Bailey, co-owner of Bailey's Salon.

Some business owners said they also wanted to lease their own spaces in the lot, but have been unable to since the city went to hourly parking.

"That parking lot is the lifeblood of downtown Greensboro," said Simon Ritchy, a property owner. "We welcome them downtown, but they should have to put up with the same things all of us do."

Council members indicated that they supported new building downtown, but they agreed that the city should try to do something to ease the parking troubles of the area businesses.

"You can't shut out these other businesses, especially if they have been here for a long time," Councilwoman T. Dianne Bellamy-Small said. "It's not fair to do that."

Councilman Zack Matheny asked that the council approve the incentive request, and work to resolve the parking issues for area businesses quickly.

City Council members turned down his motion, instead deciding to take the issue up again at their next regular meeting.

Matheny said after the meeting that he will work to make sure the city does not lose the opportunity for new development downtown.