The Biddeford City Council will hold a workshop Tuesday to get feedback from residents about a proposal to build a 640-space parking garage and complete the next phase of the city’s RiverWalk.

City officials say expanding parking capacity by building a garage will promote continued economic development downtown and reduce the property tax burden for residents. But downtown parking has been a controversial issue in the city in recent months as residents and business owners criticized a parking management plan that includes paid parking in downtown lots.

The City Council voted in 2018 to build a parking garage at 3 Lincoln St., the riverfront property that was once the site of a trash incinerator. The city bought the 8.5-acre lot in 2012 for $6.65 million. The council voted in April to move forward with the design of the parking garage.

The City Council is scheduled to vote on the proposal on Sept. 17. Tuesday’s workshop will begin at 6 p.m. in the Little Theater at Biddeford High School.

“Additional development is important to our community because it makes buildings and properties more valuable. More valuable buildings generate more property taxes for the city, which helps stabilize the tax rate,” said City Manager James Bennett. “If this project is completed, projections show that an additional $16,407,604 in property taxes will be generated in the first 10 years of operation, with a benefit of $39,772,744 over the 25-year life of the agreement.”

According to the parking garage proposal, Biddeford Innovation Inc., a special-purpose project company formed to undertake this project, will finance the entire cost of development, construction and initial working capital of the parking facility. It will also fund up to $3 million toward completion of the RiverWalk pedestrian access way.

Construction of the parking garage will take 12 to 14 months and cost $21 million to $24 million, according to the proposal.

Bennett said the city will contribute to the project with annual payments from the city’s Tax Increment Financing revenues and fees collected from the operation of the parking garage and downtown surface lots. On-street parking will continue to be free.

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