Morris St parking for free public use

September 17, 2009
Chronicle Staff
Muskegon Chronicle

MUSKEGON -- The Community Foundation for Muskegon County has decided to open up its 758-space parking lot on Morris Street for free public parking.

The foundation has been charging for parking since it purchased the lot from the former owner of the Muskegon Mall. The $1.4 million purchase in 2007 was to put the property in community control, foundation officials said at the time.

The lot was turned into a self-pay operation to preserve the county's attempt to build a transit center/parking structure across Morris Street. The parking structure plan, which has stalled, would have been damaged with adjacent free parking, said foundation President Chris McGuigan.

The parking fees also were to help with insurance and maintenance of the property, McGuigan said.

With the county not moving forward on the parking structure and little fee revenue coming in, the foundation this week opened the lot, McGuigan said.

The foundation has used the excess parking spaces to help several recent downtown developers satisfy the requirements of the city's parking ordinance. Commercial buildings need a specific number of parking spaces based on the building's square footage, according to city ordinance.