Rosemary District searches for more parking spaces

After an extended period of unfulfilled hopes for redevelopment, the Rosemary District is running into a problem with a silver lining: Parking is becoming a challenge in the area.

It’s another in a line of encouraging signs that activity in the north-of-downtown neighborhood is beginning to pick up. With at least seven residential developments under construction or in the planning stages in the Rosemary District, some businesses have reported a crunch when it comes to finding parking.

Gregory Hall is the president of Hall Architects, located at 513 Central Ave. Thanks to the opening of several new businesses and the uptick in residential construction, he says parking near his business is tighter than it was during the boom years of the 2000s. He’s happy that businesses seem to be drawing in more visitors from outside of the Rosemary District, but admits it does come with a bit of a challenge.

“That’s putting some demand here that I don’t think there was here 10 or a dozen years ago,” Hall said. “We’re now facing and feeling some of those same issues the folks on Main Street and Palm Avenue and Burns Court have been dealing with for a long time.”

“We’re now facing and feeling some of those same issues the folks on Main Street and Palm Avenue and Burns Court have been dealing with for a long time.”– Gregory Hall, president, Hall Architects

As a result, leaders in the area are working with the city on finding more spaces — or at least getting visitors to better utilize the spaces already available to them. Parking Manager Mark Lyons said the city is currently working on adding signage that makes clear where people are and aren’t allowed to park.

 “I think we’re going to be picking up around 30 new on-street spaces just by doing that, and that’s going to be within the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth street areas,” Lyons said.

Lyons said that nightlife activity in the district seems to be on the upswing, particularly in the area of Lemon Avenue and Fifth Avenue. A public parking lot — a short walk from the new Mandeville Beer Garden and restaurants on Fourth Street — is getting regular use throughout the day, he added.

Rebekah Mandeville-Gelvin, owner of the Mandeville Beer Garden, said parking hasn’t necessarily been an issue for her business, because it has its own parking lot. Still, she thought additional on-street parking would be a boon for the Rosemary District, particularly considering the reluctance of some to venture north of Fruitville Road.

“I think it would be great,” Mandeville-Gelvin said. “Give people another reason to come up here.”

Lyons said the city would continue to monitor the parking situation in the Rosemary District. He said staff works to keep engaged with the Rosemary District Neighborhood Association and individual businesses, and he knows that an influx of residents following the completion of several projects will create a new set of issues that must be addressed.

 “It’s going to draw in a lot of interest in additional vehicles,” Lyons said. “We’re actively pursuing ways to encourage the use of existing spaces.”