There’s a shortage of parking in downtown Columbus, and the Columbus-Franklin County Finance Authority wants developers to know it has financing programs that can help fill that need, Columbus Business First reports. President Jean Carter Ryan says, “[p]arking garages are the hardest thing to finance,” because they typically don’t pay for themselves. According to the article, “developers often are hamstrung because hourly or monthly parking does not cover the roughly $25,000 per space that structured parking costs.” Carter Ryan said her agency’s programs “work best when parking revenue is supplemented by special assessments or tax-increment financing districts, which redirect property taxes into a fund for infrastructure improvements.” As an example, the authority issued almost $10 million in bond financing for the 250-space Hubbard parking garage in the Short North, which is supported by a TIF. The agency has “provided more than $1 billion in long-term financing for private, nonprofit and government projects in Central Ohio” since it was created 10 years ago. For more, read the full article.
Agency has financing tools to help solve downtown parking problem
