€1.5m bill to revamp multi-storey carpark
Cavan County Council is facing the prospect of having to shell out up to €1.5 million to cover essential “significant structural renovations” on the multi-storey carpark in Cavan Town, half of which has been closed to the public for the best part of 18 months.
Not since it was first constructed in 2002 has such extensive refurbishment been planned for the multi-level parking amenity. A spokesperson told The Anglo-Celt the building has reached “a stage where it requires modernisation”.
It follows an appraisal completed in 2021, which “advised the precautionary closure” of carpark levels 7 to 15, as well as a number of other important maintenance actions. This, the report says, is to ensure the “long term viability” of the carpark.
The proposed development is the latest chapter in the history of the structure, referred to repeatedly by elected representatives as a “white elephant” given low occupancy levels. The local authority was legally forced to buy the loss-making facility seven years ago under the terms of a historic deal. Regarding its refurbishment, the council hope to be “in a position” to appoint a consultant to prepare detailed design, tender and contract documents commencing in the first quarter of 2023.
Details of the hefty bill at hand were first revealed in a disclosure shared with sitting Cathaoirleach, Fianna Fáil’s John Paul Feeley.
This newspaper subsequently probed how the multi-storey, which trades as Glassell Ltd and counts the council as its sole shareholder, has been affected by rises in maintenance and energy costs since before the pandemic hit.
Such expenditure has risen by more than 24% in 2022 (€201,442.80) compared to costs accumulated in 2019 (€161,667.75). The disparity is even higher when set against the previous year’s costs, which amounted to €130,081.50.
Buyer beware
The council currently pays annual charges in the region of €166,000 per annum on a €4 million, 30-year loan, signed in 2015, as part of a controversial contractual obligation to purchase the carpark from the owners, a nine person-strong Virginia Consortium.
As per the “watertight” deal, the county council was liable to honour the agreement after the dissolution of Cavan Town Council in 2014. The remaining €2.68 million owed was provided from existing coffers and paid parking fees.
Up to that point the off-street parking property had sustained losses of over €5m in rent, at €500,000 per year, plus running costs.
Contributions
To operate the multi-storey requires yearly capital contributions from the council. In 2023, the authority adopted in its budget a contribution to Glassell Ltd of €100,000. In 2022, councillors adopted a contributory sum of €70,000, but ended paying up nearly double that figure.
The previous year, 2020, Covid struck and lockdowns “severely impacted” parking revenue, says the council, with income slashed by 72.5% compared to the previous year.
This drop is attributed “in particular” to essential construction works carried out on Upper Main Street resulting in free parking provided, as well as a “temporary cessation of parking charges” granted in Cavan Town during the pandemic.
The loss of parking spaces and “potential revenue” due to the closure of levels 7 through to 15 in the multi-storey carpark is “another barrier” this newspaper was informed.
“Annual budgets prepared by Cavan County Council have historically forecast a revenue shortfall in the operation and maintenance,” says the council. “In order to keep the facility operational, annual contributions from Cavan County Council are required and, while contributions are estimated at the start of each financial year, the actual revenue intake and level forecast by the local authority may differ and exceed initial forecasts, with additional contributions required,” the spokesperson further explained.
‘Gradual recovery’
There has been some “gradual recovery” since however, but nowhere near back to the levels experienced pre-pandemic, with 2022 revenue just over 62% of 2019 levels.
Average daily user numbers have also crept steadily upwards.
Based on a review of records over the past five years, 2022 saw on average 72 people using the multi-storey parking facility a day, up from 55 in 2021, and 30 in 2020. The number still falls far short of 96 average user rate in 2018, and 93 in 2019.
The council spokesperson says open car parking sapces at the multi-storey are “sufficient to deal with current demand”.
They say that “interim measures” could be taken to reopen levels 7-15, however the council considers it more “prudent and less disruptive” to keep them closed while design, construction, and modernisation works are undertaken.
‘Significant renovations’
“Cavan County Council carried out an overall structural appraisal and mechanical and electrical survey in 2021. This appraisal advised the precautionary closure of levels 7 to 15 which require significant renovations. This appraisal also highlighted a number of maintenance actions, which require addressing over the next five years. These include the replacement of the paint protection system, roof membrane replacement, upgrade to CCTV, lighting, lifts and other maintenance items. The carpark is also at a stage where it requires modernisation,” says the council, who intend to carry out the works as a “single package” in order to “minimise disruption”.
“Cavan County Council are currently carrying out a tender process for multi-disciplinary engineering consultancy services. It should be noted that this is the first major maintenance works package planned for the [Multi-Storey Car Park] since its opening 21 years ago and it is necessary to ensure both its long term viability and enhance its attractiveness as a town core facility.”