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Media Credit: FELICIA GENEST–THE DIAMONDBACK Houses on Yale Avenue will be torn down to make way for a new parking garage. [Click to enlarge]

The College Park City Council approved settlement on two Yale Avenue houses, formerly rented as student housing, which will be demolished to make way for 20,000 square feet of retail space and a 350-space parking garage.

Construction of the garage will require three land parcels in an attempt by the city to alleviate inadequate parking in the downtown area and kick-start redevelopment efforts.

College Park Mayor Stephen Brayman said he hopes the parking garage will supplement city efforts to change people's negative impression of the downtown College Park area.

"If people think they can come to downtown College Park and not have a problem with parking, then more people will come," Brayman said. "That could be moving toward the makings of what people consider a better college town."

As of press time, the first property was scheduled to be settled today, while the second won't reach settlement until the current renter's lease expires in late August or early September. The third parcel is an existing city-owned parking lot behind Cornerstone Grill and Loft on Knox Road.

The two soon-to-be-purchased properties, which carry a combined price tag of $1.7 million, will mark one of the city's first attempts acting as contractors in the development of downtown College Park.

"We're trying to participate in it," Brayman said of the city's new development role. "There have been past attempts, but that never panned out."

The city can afford to foot the bill using its $3 million savings account but intends to replenish the account as soon as possible.

With the garage accounting for more than 10 percent of the city's annual budget, replenishing the account is one burden the city is still debating how to alleviate.

In the short term, District 2 Councilman Bob Catlin said the city will secure loans to cover the costs and receive a combination of state and county loans and grants.

But to pay back the loans, Brayman said they planned on using revenue generated by the garage.

"The idea is for this project, including the new city hall, to be self-supported," he said.

Brayman said the worst-case scenario would be to raise parking rates as a means of repaying the loans.

"We hope not to, but all of this is going to be a balancing act," he said. "We need to convince the vast majority that this project and all the debt associated with it won't fall back on the public."

The city cannot officially make such a promise, however. Many details surrounding the garage's design, such as structural specifications of height and meter or non-meter parking, remain uncertain.

Regardless, Brayman said he is optimistic the project will be completed or nearing completion by the end of next summer, or at latest, early fall 2007.

Contact reporter Steven Overly at overlydbk@gmail.com.

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