Will city expand parking at Library & Events Center?
Discussion expected at Wednesday’s meeting as city also considers lease to allow the Alfond Inn to use the old library as a valet lot
May 4, 2024
By Beth Kassab
Finding a parking spot at the Winter Park Library & Events Center is a growing challenge and commissioners this week will consider options to add new spaces while maintaining amenities at MLK Park, which serves as the backdrop to the buildings.
Staff is recommending a plan known as “Option B,” which would add 49 new parking spaces, but require the demolition of a 60-year-old rental space called Lake Hall Island near the corner of Harper Street and New England Avenue on the south side of the park.
It’s possible the facility could be preserved, but that would mean the park would lose its croquet court, which has a small, but loyal following, according to a report by city staff. Moving the croquet court elsewhere would be costly, according to the memorandum.
The cost of the staff recommendation to demolish Lake Hall Island and add additional parking spaces is estimated at about $618,000.
At least three other options exist ranging from just 14 new spaces at about $209,000 to building a new parking garage to add more than 200 new spaces at a cost of $8 million.
Meanwhile, the city is looking to formalize an arrangement that would allow the adjacent Alfond Inn to use the parking lot at the old and now vacant library building as valet spaces.
Commissioners will consider leasing the 69 spaces to Rollins College, which operates the Alfond, for $45 each per month. The total rent would be about $3,000 each month.
WinterParkVoiceEditor@gmail.com
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By: Beth Kassab
No biography available at this time
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Make the Events Center covered parking for the Library..
Where will the astonishing and mounting costs of the new library and events center ever end? If the city commission goes for option B, bust out another $618 thousand. Remember that promise ? We only need $30 million to float a bond issue for the new library and event center in one of your major city parks. Add this to the recent cost for Sunday hours. Was that $350K? What’s the annual library cost? $3 million plus? Don’t give the old library parking spots away to Rollins for $45 a month each. Get real. The Methodist Church charges more at Art Fest time. Make it $100 per day each. Rollins’ greedy and intrusive hand has made parking the rare and valuable commodity that it is. Time to move back and begin using the old library. Way past time to stop eroding what’s left of MLK Park. And let’s finally start charging Rollins fair market pricing for their asks. Remember the paltry sum they paid the city for using the old library parking lot as a construction lay down yard? If Rollins gets to use the old library building parking lot, at least make it profitable for the residents who live here. Whose idea was it to let Rollins get away with providing zero parking for the Alfond? The new biz school? The new museum? Free lunch time should end. Don’t build it if you can’t park it.
The simple solution to this problem is to have sufficient parking for the library patrons and let the event center groups use valet parking or some other method. It is completely unfair to library users that event center groups park for hours day and night in library parking spots. In fact, close down the event center and make it the winter park history museum and additional space for the library so we benefit the entire community.
Folks the Library does not have a parking problem. The Events Center on the other hand does and it impacts the Library. And based on the experience of the last two years, more folks attending events should spend more time at the Library enhancing their reading skills so as to comprehend the signs that say Parking for Library Patrons only.
I like the idea, “If you can’t park it, don’t build it”. We/they build build build and then wonder where to park. Don’t touch MLK or Lake Island Hall. Good idea for events patrons to valet only.
I dread having to go to the WP Library to pick up a book or DVD. The parking lot right in front of building (during the rare times that a space is even available), is so horribly laid out which makes it easy to hit other cars. And don’t even try to park behind the book return island. Can take at least 5 minutes to circumvent it to escape your parking space, since backing out is prohibited by the obstruction. I HATE TRYING TO FIND A CONVENIENT SPACE THERE BECAUSE NONE ROUTINELY EXIST! As for the event center, while there is no need to review all of the many negatives it shares with the library, there does not seem to be any way to block off space from the claustrophobic main room for smaller groups, or any room to for facilities to entertain smaller groups. The library and event center was clearly designed and approved by an architect and city commission who were not frequent library patrons. The whole focus was on the outside appearance. I look forward to completion of the new Maitland Library, which I know has the kind of warm feeling that it still has and which the old WP library had (and its old New Leaf bookstore room was fun to be in, as opposed to now residing among the stacks in the cavernous hallway fronted by a long concrete bench).
Does anyone recall the original plan that was on the ballot and voted for?
March 16, 2016
Winter Park voters narrowly approved a ballot question Tuesday that would pave the way for a new $30 million library, events center and parking garage.
The referendum received 5,411 votes, or 51 percent of the vote, according to unofficial totals released by the Orange County Supervisor of Elections.
The new facility will replace the Rachel D. Murrah Civic Center at Martin Luther King, Jr. Park. Included in the plan is a 50,000 square-foot-library, 8,5000-square-foot events center and one-story garage for 200 cars. Taxpayers will pay $49 a year for every $100,000 in their taxable home value, library officials say. The current 33,742 square-foot-library on East New England Avenue is more than 35 years old, officials say. It has not been renovated since 1994.
Included was a one story garage with 200 parking spaces… Sounds like no problem to me, or is the usual bait and switch and it ends up costing many millions more with NO parking. But they were excited !!!
The city is excited about the building of its new 21st century, state-of-the-art library & events center. The final project design and $42 million budget was approved by the City Commission January 2020. Construction began March 2020 and finished fall 2021.
Valencia College Winter Park campus, located at Morse and Denning, usually has parking available on the weekends. Perhaps the city could negotiate with Valencia to allow Valet Parking on the weekends for events at the Library Event Center.
I would also research the practicality and cost of converting the event center to covered parking for library patrons. It may be worth looking into. It would very nice to have covered parking allowing library patrons protection from the rain to enter and leave the library without getting wet.
I oppose demolishing Lake Isle Hall and the croquet court.
If the Events Center remains, I wish the library would be allowed to use the Library Events Center free of charge to hold certain events they may have , i.e. to show movies, hold interesting talks, allow candidate meet and greets with the public such as the one that was held for commission seat 2 candidates recently (there was not enough seating for all who attended).
I believe the city needs to retain the old library building, land, and parking. If any other entity wishes to use it temporarily for parking or storing construction materials, they should be charged daily whatever the going rate is.
I agree the new Winter Park Library does not feel warm and welcoming. It feels and looks like the library ran out of funds to purchase furniture, and book shelves. The concrete seating is cold, hard and cushions are scarce. Small child-sized upholstered chairs do not welcome one to sit, read, and stay awhile. There is an institutional look and feel to the mauve cushions and gray tones of the metal bookshelves. I would invest in attractive wooden book shelves and make every effort to replicate inside the colors, warm earth tones of different greens, sunny yellows, and the cool light blues of water and sky, and varied tones of wood that one sees looking out the library windows.
Completely agree with the cold, institutional look and feel to the library. So disappointing.
Thank the Commission who just had to have an “ iconic “ architect design the building.