St. Armands searches for new valet

St. Armands leaders think they’ve found a new valet service to replace the Circle’s previous operator. Now, they just need to find a place to put it.

St. Armands has been without a valet since October, when the current operator, Southwest Parking Co., did not apply to renew its permit. Southwest’s service had been the subject of several complaints from people who alleged the operation was contributing to traffic congestion issues, among other problems.

After considering its options, the St. Armands Landowners, Merchants and Residents group settled on a preferred operator: Hospitality Parking of America, a Tampa-based valet company.

Selecting a new vendor also presented the St. Armands stakeholders with an opportunity to address the traffic congestion issues by moving the valet stand off of the Circle itself. The city plans to eventually place the stand at the parking garage that will be constructed on North Adams Drive, but putting the valet there now poses a challenge.

At Tuesday’s St. Armands Business Improvement District meeting, St. Armands Circle Association Executive Director Diana Corrigan said city staff recently announced a project for early 2017 that would impact access to the area where the garage is being built. As a result, she said, continuity might be difficult to attain.

“We were informed there’s going to be huge construction that’s going to be going on to install a water line that’s going to close Madison Drive and Adams Drive,” Corrigan said. “It’s going to be extremely confusing.”

In an attempt to avoid that confusion, the BID voted unanimously to recommend a different location for the valet stand: Fillmore Drive, near the Crab & Fin restaurant.

Once Hospitality Parking of America submits an application, the proposed location of the valet stand will be publicly noticed before the city can approve the new operation. The St. Armands merchants and property owners hoped to have a valet service in place in time for the holidays.

The BID also discussed another valet-related issue: Although the previous stand has been removed from its location near Café L’Europe, the group said cars still frequently stop at the parking spaces where the valet used to be set up. City Parking Manager Mark Lyons said the city was investigating ways to address the issue, but admitted time might be the only way to correct that behavior.

“The valet signs have been removed,” Lyons said. “I don’t know what else you can do, but this is being reviewed to determine whether there’s something else that could be done.”