Lookofsky: New deck will meet real parking needs

One of the main reasons downtown Athens is so great, and continues to thrive, is simply because so many people care about its future. The discussion surrounding the new parking deck planned for West Clayton and North Lumpkin streets only highlights how important downtown is for all of Athens. I'd like to take a moment to address the concerns of those who are uneasy with this project moving forward, with Athens-Clarke County commissioners scheduled to vote on the project Tuesday.

There's no doubt the parking deck is a large structure. If you were downtown on Thursday, you might have noticed some red balloons that a citizens' group - Friends of Downtown Athens -placed on the site, dancing approximately 70 to 80 feet in the air. The balloons were a close approximation of how tall the structure will be, and gave a great perspective of how this deck will work with the existing downtown structures.

I first viewed the balloons from my fourth-floor office in the Fred Building. I then walked to the top of the College Avenue parking deck for a different perspective. When looking across the skyline of downtown, the balloons are no taller than the Bank of America building, the Athens First building, or even the Gameday condominiums.

A 520-space parking deck is going to be large. But it's important to note that a private developer could put one, two or even three 100-foot buildings (certainly larger than the proposed deck) on that same site. No one would be able to stop them from doing so, and we would have far less control.

Thankfully, there have been quite a few open meetings, public forums and county commission meetings during the past year, giving people an opportunity to share how they would like the new deck to look.

Also important is that the mixed-use parking deck will be Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-certified. In fact, plans for the structure are only 2 points away from achieving LEED gold certification - no small feat for a parking deck.

The current design shows retail and restaurant space on the ground floor, parking in the middle, and premium office space (that looks out onto a green roof) at t

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