Mayor Tim Mahoney at Hector Airport - Dec. 2018
FARGO (KFGO) – Mayor Tim Mahoney said he’s more hopeful than ever that Hector International Airport will have a parking garage in the not-to-distant future.
That follows a vote by the Airport Authority to move the process along as part of the planned $125 million terminal expansion project that could get underway in the fall.
“It was a long, hard, brutal winter because it started in December and the lot got snow-covered, and the public had difficulty at times even finding a parking spot,” Mahoney said. “So, we probably had more complaints about parking this year than we’ve ever had, and the public started bringing up, ‘why don’t you put a parking ramp out there?’ They know that’s my favorite topic. I’d love to put a parking ramp out there.”
Mahoney said he’s pushing for a four-level parking garage that could hold a thousand vehicles.
“This is the most optimistic I’ve been because there’s some loans available through the state of North Dakota that would help bring the interest rate down on it, and there’s some ways of doing it,” Mahoney said. “It could be built next year and ready for occupancy the winter of 2025. I’m really excited about it and hope we can come to a solution. I think the public will be real happy.”
Mahoney also said the Airport Authority can collect more tax money than it’s taking in now and raising that mill rate could be a possibility.
The parking garage could cost up to $43 million.
The City Commission and the Airport Authority have scheduled a meeting to talk about the idea for June 12.
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