ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — Finding a parking space in downtown St. Augustine can be challenging.
However, now city leaders are now inching closer to building a second public parking garage. It would be in West Augustine.
Donna Thomas opened two stores in the area. One is called A Coastal Home. Her shops are some of the several businesses starting to pepper West King Street.
"I saw the potential three years ago, and I said 'I’m going to give it a shot,'" she nodded.
West Augustine is not as busy as downtown St. Augustine as U.S. 1 separates the two areas.
"We are developing and have plans to build a new parking garage at the corner of West King Street and U. S. 1," confirmed Assistant City Manager Reuben Franklin.
The location is where the Broudy’s liquor store is on the West side of U.S. 1, just across from the main route into the downtown St. Augustine.
Franklin said the plan could go before city commissioners next month. Last summer, the city commission heard from property owner Barry Broudy.
At that time, he told commissioners, "Parking is near impossible. I don't even come into town on the weekend."
He wants to work with the city to create more than a parking garage with 500 to 800 parking spaces.
Franklin said, "It’s planned to be a mixed use development, so there’s some commercial and residential."
There has also been talk about a commuter train depot at that location, with train connecting St. Augustine to Jacksonville. But for right now, all of that is "a future long-term plan," Franklin noted.
The parking garage would come first, he said, providing more parking spaces to people visiting downtown.
"Oh, in the downtown area," Thomas said, "Yeah, sure. That’s make s a lot of sense! But you know what it also does for West King? It’ll bring more people walking into this direction."
While some say the development and parking garage would be too much for the corner, Thomas said bring it on.
"It would be fabulous!"