Winter Park Library and Event Center Parking Lot Expansion

The Project consists of clearing and paving an existing unpaved lot and adding some additional street-side parking on Harper Street.. The site is located southeast of the intersection of West Morse Boulevard and Harper Street in Winter Park, Orange County, Florida. The site borders Lake Mendsen to the north, which is part of Lake Mendsen Park. The proposed lot will provide additional parking for the existing Library and Event Center.

The new Library and Event Center has been very successful from a patronage perspective. However, with this success, there have been challenges, including significant parking demands during the times when the Event Center has large daytime or weekend programming that coincides with the Library's operating hours. As a result of the continued parking challenges and the anticipation of potential increased park usage with upgrades to the Community playground and MLK Jr. park, there in a necessity to increase parking capacity using the space south of the current Library parking lot. During the May 8, 2024, City Commission Meeting, several options for additional parking were presented. The Commission voted, 4-1, to proceed with Options B & D. Based on Commissioner comments and later discussions, staff have investigated alternative parking surfaces, including gravel and asphalt for the construction of Option B. During the August 28, 2024, City Commission Meeting, staff was directed to modify Option B reducing the size to construct only an asphalt surface where the dirt parking lot currently exists. Staff was also directed to modify Option D to increase the parallel parking along Harper Street.