City of Cape Coral could spend millions on new parking garage

Finding parking in Cape Coral’s Entertainment District is not a simple task. Now, the city wants to give visitors and residents more parking options when going out.

The City of Cape Coral is considering spending more than $10 million on a parking garage at SE 47th Terrace between SE 8th Court and SE 9th Place.

Many in Cape Coral are aware of how difficult the parking situation can be, so this new option excites them.

Julie Harrigan says she’s happy to see something finally filling that lot in Cape Coral. She’s watched as it sat empty for years. “What was there was just an eyesore, so I’m glad they’ve got it all leveled out,” said Harrigan.

If everything goes according to plan, the empty lot will soon become the site of new mixed-use development. There will be apartments, commercial spaces, and all-important parking.

Madison Dalby says this is exactly what this part of the city needs. “You come down here Friday or Saturday night; it’s super hard to get a parking spot, and you’re looking all over,” she said. “You’re spending 15-20 minutes just trying to find a spot, and then you waste your time for dinner, activities, so it’ll definitely benefit this area a lot.”

The Cape Coral Community Redevelopment Agency is set to talk about pitching in more than $10 million to construct the parking garage. The garage will contain 525 spaces, with 125 of those being designated for public parking.

“I think they definitely need it because the more people we get, the less space there is to park anywhere,” said Harrigan.

John Giaquinto is the owner of Duval Street, and he hopes more parking means more business for his restaurant.

“It’s going to help. It’s going to bring more people here; more people are going to be able to live this way,” said Giaquinto. “More people are going to be able to shop. And then they have to eat, we’ve got the places to eat, so it’s going to be great for everybody.”

The City expects this new mixed-use development to generate more than $1 million annually in property taxes.