The Heritage House parking lot in front of Riverside Park is a good place for the city's next parkade but it's only part of the answer to downtown parking problems, a spokesperson for downtown businesses said Thursday night.



Several business owners and managers met to hear a presentation by City engineering director David Trawin and real estate manager Dave Freeman and came away impressed with the controversial proposal.



""They were very much impressed by the potential for it," said Kamloops Central BIA manager Gay Pooler of reaction from those who met with the City reps.



"We support the City pursuing" further studies. "The location definitely works."



But she said the KCBIA's board of directors will have to discuss the plan — probably within the next couple of weeks — before deciding whether or not to formally come out in support.



"Right now it's a little premature. We've got only very preliminary plans. It might be a moot point" depending on results of geotechnical studies, she said.



And she said that, even if the Heritage House plan goes ahead, other new downtown parking will still have to be created.



Not all downtown property owners like the Heritage House location. Ken Lepin of Heathron Developments told The Daily News on Thursday he feared it could become a "white elephant."



He said concern over the price of land — considered by the City a major factor in favour of the Heritage House site since the City already owns it — is shortsighted. If the City has to spend extra to buy land, so be it, said Lepin.



"My argument is the $2 million for the land extra will look very cheap in 10 or 15 years. Interest rates are presently very low," he said.



He predicted a parkade at Heritage House would get limited use.



"That, I'm scared, will be a white elephant. It's in a remote area, so more vulnerable to burglaries, assaults, etc."



The idea of a parkade on the boundary of Riverside Park was broached at a recent City council workshop and has blown into a heated debate both within council and in the community.



Trawin said Thursday the park location was not chosen lightly.



City Hall gave eight downtown sites serious consideration for a new parkade before deciding the Heritage House parking lot was the best choice, he said.



"We've been looking at properties for three years. We seriously looked at eight pieces," Trawin said.



He said owners of the smaller lots wanted around $1 million for land that would be cramped and require taller parkades — which gets more expensive.



Trawin said the City also talked with some businesses about partnerships, but either the cost was too high or there were concessions wanted that the City couldn't meet.



The Heritage House spot had fewer negatives when the City weighed its main factors: location, cost, size and practicality.



Council has not yet discussed whether downtown businesses will be asked to pay a levy to contribute to the final cost, Trawin said.



While the proposed three-level parkade would provide 450 stalls, it's going on a lot that already has about 170 spaces, putting the net increase at 280.



But there are changes coming that create even more parking pressure downtown, as they involve the loss of lots used for parking now, such as the Sandman Signature Hotel on Lorne and the casino on Lansdowne.



The need for parking downtown has been an issue on council's books for a decade. It's also been a priority for the KCBIA.



"Parking has been on our strategic plan since we were formed in 2002," said Pooler.



Downtown has lost businesses because of the lack of parking, particularly for employees, she said.



"We need parking, there is no doubt about that. And the most dire need is for employee parking. We've got a lot of employees parking in customer parking. And that makes it difficult for customers to park," she said.



"Businesses have left the downtown core or failed to locate in the downtown because of lack of parking."



There's a two-year waiting list for the two City-run parkades downtown that were funded from a levy on area businesses. Both are full, mostly used by workers.



"You have to keep your downtown strong. A city rots from the inside out. If you have a strong downtown, you have a strong city," said Pooler.



"So all taxpayers in the city should be concerned and willing to invest in their downtown. And they have in the past."



Pooler said commercial property owners are feeling taxed to the hilt and would prefer the City to fund this latest parkade.



"To add another levy on top is going to be tough to do. It's not saying that would never happen. It is within the realm of reality because it has happened in the past."



In the past, downtown businesses have paid levies for cobblestone street improvements, the parkades and the Interior Savings Centre.



"It certainly wouldn't be our first choice. But I'm not saying it would be an impossibility, either."



Parking is necessary for a strong downtown, and a strong downtown is vital to a growing city, she said.



Lepin said the parkade should be in the heart of the city.



"I think it should be south of Victoria and probably east of Fifth or Sixth, that's where the growth is going to be in the future," he said.