CHARLESTON, W.Va. –Charleston Town Center shoppers will soon see a three-dollar rate increase for parking.
All three garages that were with the town center, Quarrier Street, Lee Street and Washington Street have all raised how much you’re going to have to pay in order to shop at the center.
Andy Boyd, Asset Manager with ABM Parking Service says that he only takes care of Quarrier and Lee Street garages, where they’ve decided to raise how much you pay to park from two dollars to five dollars.
“So those three original garages with the town center mall were split between two different entities,” Boyd said. “So, I have nothing to do with the one garage C, which is the Washington Street garage.”
He said that Lee and Quarrier were purchased by an entity representing the bond trustees in February.
Boyd said that once the two garages came out of receivership, management at ABM did a market study.
“Our management company keeps up to date on the market and the prices that everyone is paying so we felt it was appropriate to raise it,” he said.
The study involved looking at what the daily rates were for garages in Charleston, and they found market rates to be between $5 and $7 dollars.
He said that they waited to raise the rates until after the girl’s and boy’s state basketball tournaments in March.
“We didn’t think that would be right, so we waited until after that to make the increase,” Boyd said.
Boyd said that the Washington Street Garage has increased their rate to $15 dollars a day.
The rate increase is expected go into effect Monday, April 14.