The City of Wildwood will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new downtown parking garage at 9 a.m. Friday, Sept 13.
The $6.6 million garage is expected to open to the public for parking at the conclusion of the event, pending successful testing of the elevator system.
The four-level structure houses 126 spaces, including four served by two EV charging stations.
The first phase of a public-private partnership with G3 Development, the garage will be owned by the City of Wildwood and offer free parking to support the downtown business and municipal district.
“We have witnessed a shortage of parking in this area for some time,” said City Manager Jason McHugh. “Wildwood has a multitude of small, independent businesses on Main Street, including retail and service-based companies, all of which stand to benefit immediately from the additional parking for their customers. As the downtown area continues to develop, the additional support infrastructure will be that much more critical.”
A project dubbed The Railyard is the next phase of the public-private partnership and will feature 8,000 square feet of commercial space for indoor/outdoor dining and entertainment.
Construction is expected to begin in early 2025.
“It has been gratifying to see the vision behind Wildwood’s Downtown Master Plan start to become reality,” McHugh added. “I’m thrilled we are beginning to show our residents a return on their investment of time, ideas, thoughtful insight, and feedback during our planning process.”
That process, facilitated by consultants at Ayers Associates, encompassed both in-person and online opportunities for the public to participate in brainstorming, surveys, placemaking exercises, interviews, and discussion to provide input on what Wildwood’s downtown area most needed to better serve its growing population.
The plan envisions traffic calming through a variety of strategies, green space, and inviting gathering/social areas to encourage and benefit pedestrian activity in the downtown area. Design of the state’s Complete Streets Study for Main Street/US 301 is included in the Florida Department of Transportation’s Five-Year Work Program and the Lake-Sumter Metropolitan Planning Organization’s List of Priority Projects.
Additional information about Wildwood’s Downtown Master Plan, the parking garage, and The Railyard project is available at wildwooddowntown.com.
