Last year the Mooresville Town Commissioners approved $1,600,000 in bonds to finance a 357 space parking deck in the downtown area. At its November meeting, the architect informed the board the project would cost an estimated $3,900,000, or nearly $11,000 per parking space. The board voted to table the matter until its December meeting.

When asked why the original estimate was for far off base, Town Finance Director Maia Setzer responded, “Truthfully, I don’t know why.”

A conventional parking lot contains about 200 spaces per acre. Thus a 357 space parking lot could be built on less than two acres.

Although land in downtown Mooresville is expensive, the tax value of most parcels of any size is less than $500,000 per acre. Even if the town had to pay $1,000,000 per acre, it could buy land and build a conventional parking lot for much less than the cost of the parking deck.