With Water Street apartment complex still on pause, parking garage moves forward

Residents and visitors in downtown Binghamton will have another place to park next year, as construction on the Water Street parking garage is underway.

At a press conference on Friday morning, Binghamton Mayor Jared Kraham announced construction on the $25 million project had begun, with work being done to install a foundation for the structure.

Plans for an apartment complex at the site were thwarted in July 2023, when Binghamton City School District board members' unanimously voted against a 28-year payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement for the multi-million dollar project. The PILOT affected the housing portion of the project, not the parking garage.

How will the garage be built?

Currently, workers are working a foundation for the structure. Once that is complete, pre-cast concrete which is made off site will be trucked to the site and installed, with the expected date being April.

"It will be built kind of like a Lego set, piece by piece," said Kraham. "There will be a large crane on site, it will be really something to see in downtown Binghamton."

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What will the parking garage offer?

When the garage is completed, it will offer just under 500 spots, with the ground floor offering 60 spots for short-term retail and restaurant parking, which Kraham says will support downtown businesses. The rest of the spots will be used for monthly and overnight parking, and overflow parking when necessary.

"This will add significant capacity to downtown Binghamton parking supply," said Kraham. "Certainly folks have seen a parking crunch after the closure of the Water Street parking garage several years ago. This will add to the capacity downtown and really support all of the restaurants that we see popping up downtown."

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According to Kraham, the garage will be built to keep options open for residential housing above it in the coming years.

Kraham also announced a $2 million project on the Boscov's men's store building. Demolition will be completed on the old Boscov's parking garage which hangs over the men's store. In addition, a new roof will be installed on the men's store. In the meantime, the men's store will be relocated to the main Boscov's building.

When will the garage be completed?

According to Kraham, construction on the garage is expected to be completed by the end of 2024. Kraham also said lower level parking is planned to be available before the Christmas shopping season begins this year.

This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: Here's Binghamton's Water Street parking garage construction timeline