Joplin businesses fear months without parking as city defends $5m garage renovation

Downtown Joplin business owners are warning that a nine-month parking garage renovation could drive away customers and threaten their livelihoods.

But city officials say deteriorating concrete and structural problems leave them little choice but to close the facility.

The concerns surfaced Thursday during a sometimes-heated public meeting at City Hall over the proposed rehabilitation of the parking garage at Sixth Street and Virginia Avenue.

Business owners questioned how their customers and employees would access nearby establishments during construction, particularly with ongoing roadwork along Seventh Street.

Joplin Public Works Director Dan Johnson acknowledged the disruption but said the garage has deteriorated to the point that major repairs are unavoidable.

"It's no secret that you can see chunks of concrete that are falling off of the existing structure."

Johnson said the entire garage must initially close when construction starts because workers will be removing much of the upper parking deck and repairing structural components.

"When the contractor starts to work, it is unsafe to be anywhere underneath it," Johnson said.

The city expects construction beginning in spring 2027.

Johnson said the contractor will have approximately nine months to complete the work, although some affected areas could reopen sooner.

"We expect to open up portions as the work progresses," he said. "But in the end, most of it will be closed throughout the project."

Businesses question parking priorities

One of the most contentious issues involved plans to reserve parking spaces for residents of the nearby Frisco Building while neighboring businesses face the loss of customer parking.

Several business owners, like Club 609, repeatedly questioned why residents were receiving priority.

City officials explained that the residential parking arrangements are tied to an existing agreement associated with the Frisco Building.

A parking diagram presented at the meeting showed numbered spaces designated for assigned parking near the garage.

Business owners argued that their establishments also depend on convenient parking to remain financially viable.

Merchants questioned whether the city had calculated the potential loss of sales tax revenue if customers avoided downtown during construction.

Heather Ward, co-owner of Salon 529 on Main Street, said her business already struggles with limited parking and relies heavily on nearby lots for customers and employees.

Fellow co-owner Catlyn Pink warned that the garage closure would affect businesses throughout downtown, including accessibility for customers with disabilities, while Ward urged the city to consider temporary diagonal parking to offset the loss of spaces.

City rejects diagonal parking proposal

Johnson said that option has been studied repeatedly and would create significant traffic problems.

He explained that Main Street serves as a major north-south traffic corridor and that removing travel lanes would cause congestion during morning and evening rush hours.

"The impacts of losing a lane on Main Street will back up traffic during those rush hours," Johnson said.

Some merchants disagreed, arguing that temporary parking changes should be considered to protect businesses.

Johnson said the city will continue examining alternatives but cautioned that the number of displaced vehicles makes a complete solution unlikely.

"There's only so many things that I can do when I'm removing an entire parking lot and the parking lot under it," Johnson said.

He suggested customers may have to become more accustomed to walking farther downtown.

"People will park at the mall and walk 10 times the distance that they will to get to a store in downtown," Johnson said. "So it can be done."

Questions over accessibility

Business owners also raised concerns about accessible parking and access for customers with disabilities.

Johnson acknowledged that access to some older buildings could be limited during construction.

He said the city believes certain temporary restrictions are allowable during a defined construction project, although he did not provide a detailed explanation of how accessible routes would be maintained for each affected business.

The project is expected to include protected access points for some businesses, while portions of Sixth Street may remain accessible to local traffic, deliveries and trash collection.

Major repairs, not a complete replacement

The garage was constructed in the 1960s and has developed significant structural and drainage problems.

Johnson said the project was designed as a rehabilitation rather than a complete replacement to remain within the city's available funding.

Contractors are expected to remove nearly the entire upper parking deck, replace some beams, and repair or retrofit supporting columns.

Johnson acknowledged that construction costs have risen significantly since the project's initial budget was developed.

The garage renovation carries an estimated cost of $5.1 million.

Despite the concerns raised Thursday, Johnson said the city will continue communicating with affected property owners and businesses.

"We will look at options," he said. "We will still be reaching out and talking to the property owners, the businesses, the people that are most affected."