City officials said Monday they are dealing with water runoff problems on a city parking lot at King Street.
Cherita Allen, deputy economic development administrator, said the water during rain events is running into a building next door being developed by Hiren Desai, who is also building the Moxy nearby.
She told members of the Chattanooga Downtown Redevelopment Corporation (CDRC) that the city could either:
- Spend $30,000 to dig a ditch in the center of the lot with city public works handling it.
She said all 78 spaces in the lot would be lost and those parking there would have to move to the CARTA garage by the Chattanooga Choo Choo.
- Spend $75,000 to raise the grade to divert the runoff away from the adjacent building. That would be a project taking 3-4 days.
- Spend $350,000 to $400,000 in a six-month project to raise the grade, asphalt and stripe the lot. Ms. Allen said some spaces could be made available for public parking to bring in revenue. She said space could be found elsewhere for displayed city workers.
She said Mr. Desai is interested in leasing half of the city spaces.
Developer Desai, who is renovating a former warehouse nearby and building a Moxie Hotel near King and South Market, earlier said he needed the lot for parking.
The city had agreed to sell the lot to Mr. Desai at a price much less than the city had paid for it in 2007 and well below its current market value. After questions were raised, an appraisal was done, and the price more than doubled. The Desai sale was later canceled.
The city is to make a recommendation later on how to proceed with the city lot.