Oak Park is scheduled to start a redevelopment project today, which will necessitate closing a parking garage owned by the village.
The closure may last up to 18 months, and is likely to affect many drivers, since the garage serves about 166 cars daily, or 52,000 per year. The garage is handy to several doctors’ offices, as well as the Oak Park Medical Center, and is therefore in constant use.
Knowing that many of those who use the garage are seniors and may have difficulty walking, Oak Park has arranged to provide valet parking for patrons coming to the area of Forest Avenue and Lake Street. The parking will be conducted by LAZ; the company that runs the parking meters in the City of Chicago. Valet parking will operate during normal business hours on weekdays, and will cost $5 for three hours and under, or $12 for three through ten hours.
The development going up is a 21-story mixed-use project that comprises 270 apartments, ground-level retail space of approximately 25,000 square feet, and a parking garage that has 588 spaces. The village has not ruled out the possibility of continuing the valet parking even after the building is complete.
Oak Park officials might want to work with a flyer printing company to design a mailer for village residents, describing the valet parking service, its hours, and the fees.
