Uptown Parking Garage opens after renovations leaving spots open to lease

Renovations on the Uptown Parking Garage are complete and the structure is open again for daily and leased parking. 

The garage partially shut down in August after safety concerns regarding its structural stability were brought to the city. During construction in the past four months, 80 parking spaces were available on the first floor including some leased spaces, but the second, third and fourth floors were closed off. The garage reopened fully in January after repairs were completed.

When the garage reopened, Oxford Police Chief John Jones said some members of the public thought the leased spots were a new addition. People can sign up to lease a parking spot for a year for $1,250 or a semester for $625. Despite the confusion, Jones said the leased spots have always been a feature.

While the first floor is designated for daily parking for $0.25/hr - $1/hr, each floor above it is available for leasing, with the fourth floor leased entirely by the Elms Hotel for its guests. Public Safety Assistant Angela Schatzle said spots on the second and third floors are usually leased to small Uptown business owners or residents with nearby housing and are typically in high demand.

“The majority of the time, we’ve had a waiting list,” Schatzle said. “They’ll call two years in advance that they want to get on the lease schedule.”

Schatzle said they chose not to take any more people onto the lease waitlist during the repairs because they were unsure when it would be done. Jones said because of this, there are currently more lease spots available than normal.

“We’ve not usually had openings,” Jones said, “but with the construction and reopening, what we’ve found is we’ve probably only got about half the lease spots taken up right now.”

They expect those spots will start to fill up again by this coming summer.

Currently, the price for daily parking and leasing remains the same as before the renovations. Jones said when next year’s fee ordinance comes around they may reevaluate the prices.

“Generally, it goes a long time without being increased,” Jones said. “Every so often we do.”