Janine Marnien
Need a parking space near the Montrose Shopping Park?
Try the old Paradise Ford dealership. Although it looks like an
abandoned car lot, it really is a public parking lot owned by the
city of Glendale.
The city purchased the lot in January with the intention of
turning it into a parking facility. However, because striping wasn't
added until the first week of June and the Ford building is still
there, some merchants are concerned the general public isn't aware of
the additional parking.
"It's kind of a bittersweet thing," said Linda Strack, board
member of the Montrose Shopping Park Assn. and owner of Whites Art
Gallery. "It's there but it's not really doing us much good."
The lot is in still in the design and planning stages, Director of
Public Works Kerry Morford said.
"People may not know they can park there because it does still
look like something people recognize as the old Paradise Ford," he
said.
Signage alerting drivers that the lot is a public parking facility
has not yet been installed, but will be soon, Supervisor of
Transportation and Parking Services Mark Maloney said.
The lot -- in the 2400 block of the shopping park -- will include
lighting and landscaping, but has many months to go before being
completed.
It will remain a temporary lot through the holiday season, then
will be closed around February so the building can be demolished. It
could be reopen as a permanent parking lot by next spring, Maloney
said.
The city paid about $1.85 million for the property, and could
spend an additional amount of approximately $375,000 demolishing the
building and paving the parking lot.
