Officials Hope To Decide On Parking Deck Design 'By Mid-December'

Ridgewood officials are planning on deciding on a design and cost for the planned downtown parking garage by mid-December.

Three proposed designs of the parking garage will be presented at the Dec. 2 council meeting. Renderings of the three designs will be presented at the meeting.

The three options officials are considering are:

• A four-floor parking deck that could accommodate 405 vehicles and cost approximately $12 million. The rendering is on the village website.
• A three-and-a-half floor option with an open roof that could hold 355 vehicles and cost approximately $11 million.
• A three-floor option that could hold 306 vehicles and cost approximately $10.1 million.

The rendering will also be displayed in the Village Hall lobby.

More than 3,200 residents voted ‘yes’ to the non-binding referendum question of whether a parking garage should be constructed at the intersection of Hudson and South Broad streets on Election Day; 1,777 people voted ‘no’.

The referendum also means Ridgewood may bond up to $15 million to finance the project. The funds will be repaid “principally — if not entirely — with parking revenues.”

“As we get closer to resolving this issue — the need for more parking — that has been discussed and debated for over 50 years, I sincerely hope that we can share in the excitement of the moment and work together to make it happen,” said Mayor Paul Aronsohn in an e-mail.