PARKING – The Parking Garage is NOT open 24/7. The City maintains hours that may change by the season. Please only search for the Cache during “open” parking hours. The City has signs to indicate the times that the Parking Garage is open.
NEEDS – Bring a flashlight. BYOP. Tweezers most likely needed. A lot of stealth will be required, depending on activity. Due to the surrounding buildings and the Parking Garage structure itself, the GPS likes to jump around a bit.
REQUESTS – If you locate the Cache, PLEASE remove it carefully and slowly. After signing the log, please roll it back up tight, placing it how you found it in the container. PLEASE take care to gently re-place the Cache Container as it was found, so that everyone can enjoy the hunt.
SOME HISTORY –
Construction for the Parking Garage originally began in 1974. At the time, it was the center of a much heated controversy in the City of Sharon and surrounding communities. Criticism was strong. Many people felt that a parking garage was not needed in the City of Sharon, and that the cost for the City was way too much of a burden for the taxpayers.
Finally opened in 1976, the completed five-level structure contained about 350 parking spaces. The original construction and property came at a cost of over $2 million. However, the City had to finance the project with Bonds, and after some subsequent refinancing, the costs will total about $6 million by the time all of the principal and interest amounts are paid off in 2025.
In the years following the completion of the structure, it turned out that the Parking Garage was indeed very underutilized. There was little need for a parking garage in that area of Sharon. Other than the occasional use for special events in the area, the garage was virtually empty at any given time.
As the years passed, the Garage was neglected and fell into disrepair. The building was under-maintained due to City budget cuts, and Vandals used it as their playground. Its condition had become a safety hazard.
Due to the deterioration and safety concerns, the Parking Garage was eventually closed. After some time, the City ultimately decided to re-habilitate the structure rather than tear it down.
The partial face-lift took place during 2013. The City was given permission to use some 2005 State Grant Money which was expiring. The funds were originally slated for a pedestrian bridge project that never happened. With a cost of about $600,000; the first two levels of the Garage were brought up to code. The City expects to receive about $500,000 of those funds back from the Grant Programs.
The Parking Garage re-opened in February 2014, so I decided to place this Cache at the location. Hopefully this will bring some activity to the structure and awareness of its existence.
The downtown has seen some growth and revitalization with new businesses and cultural events in the past couple of years. Maybe the increased traffic to the downtown Sharon area will finally bring about a utilization of the structure, so that it does not continue to be a very expensive “Parking Blunder”.