New WW parking garage could cost $30 million private study says

By Greg Forester, Staff Writer
   WEST WINDSOR — Parking, parking, parking.
   With residents, politicians and commuters alike tying the construction of more parking into the redevelopment of the Princeton Junction train station area, a township landowner took it upon himself to commission a study to analyze the financial impact of building new parking facilities.
   ”Clearly parking for West Windsor residents is an important issue, and our intent in commissioning this was to further the discussion to help solve the problem,” said InterCap Holdings CEO Steve Goldin, who owns a significant amount of property on the west side of the Northeast Corridor tracks. “We wanted to put the information out there and let people draw their own conclusions.”
   Released this weekend, the InterCap-funded analysis looked at the impact on the wallets of commuters using the new spaces and the impact on the coffers of the township in funding such a project, to show what the possible effect would be in building a new 1,000-space garage.
   The study — put together by TimHaas of Blue Bell, Pa. — analyzes the financial impact of various levels of fees charged to users. It implies that the township could end up paying a significant amount for the construction of such a facility, which was predicted to cost around $30 million.
   With monthly rates of $100 — significantly more than the current $30 to $60 paid by most commuters — the township would have about $19.5 million in capital costs, according to the study. It found that only with a monthly charge of $210 would the facility be completely “self sufficient,” according to the study.
   It implied that advocates of parking-only construction in the redevelopment area would create a difficult financial situation.
   Finding enough commuters to pay significantly more than they are currently paying could be the hard part, according to Mr. Goldin.
   ”One-thousand people would have to say they would be willing to do this to make it work,” Mr. Goldin said.
   Township officials Monday said they appreciated Mr. Goldin’s work in commissioning the study, but they questioned some of its assumptions and its numbers.
   ”We are trying to work closely with Steve and anyone else with the people of the township’s true interest in mind,” said West Windsor Parking Authority Chairman Andy Lupo. “We think some of the numbers may be off because they didn’t have the right information.”
   The size of the garage was also a concern, according to Mr. Lupo, who said the parking authority was considering garages of a larger size than the 1,000-space facility examined in the study.
   A larger garage would result in a reduced monthly charge per space, Mr. Lupo said.
   The parking authority is working on its own study, which would be compared to the private study at some point, Mr. Lupo said.
   Councilman Charles Morgan, who has been a constant proponent of providing more parking for West Windsor residents, said he had not read the study in detail.
   ”I understand that it is really nothing more than a calculation of the cost of a parking spot and a garage, and there’s really no study of revenues,” said Mr. Morgan. “The general reaction seems to be that the report is kind of sketchy, that it’s making assumptions on revenues and that it’s not well-researched.”
   Some of the assumptions in the study included a $25,000 per spot cost, including an appropriate façade for the structure, and around $400,000 in access equipment and other costs.
   The study also suggested a fund set-aside, in the amount of $50 per space annually, for structural maintenance.
   Mr. Lupo has emphasized that the parking authority will continue to work independently to develop some of its own ideas about how additional parking should be created around the township’s train station.
   The authority will be holding a special joint meeting at 1 p.m. Saturday, with the council and other community leaders in attendance.