Sandpoint City Hall formally opens new downtown parking lot

By Zach Hagadone
Reader Staff

Officials from City Hall, the Sandpoint Urban Renewal Agency, construction representatives and members of the public gathered May 13 to officially cut the ribbon at Sandpoint’s newly rebuilt downtown parking lot.

Located between Church and Oak streets, and now accessible through a single entrance/exit on Third Avenue, the parking lot project began in earnest in early April with the goal of completing the work before Lost in the ’50s, which begins Thursday, May 15.

Sandpoint Mayor Jeremy Grimm at the downtown parking lot ribbon cutting.
Photo by Zach Hagadone.

The quick turnaround on the new parking lot required staff and contractors to work “tirelessly,” Sandpoint Mayor Jeremy Grimm said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, singling out City Engineer Brandon Staglund for praise and noting that the city kept the project as in-house as possible. The work was paid for with $150,000 from the city’s 2025 budget and the remainder of the $434,085 cost funded by SURA.

“We couldn’t have done this without their support,” Grimm said of SURA, which has included rehabilitation of the city lot in its budget since 2014, though it wasn’t until this year that the project gained traction.

“[This has] been on our minds for well over 15 years,” Grimm said, going on to thank the public for its patience with upward of 120 parking spaces being eliminated during the weeks of work.

“It seems like a simple thing — a new parking lot … But it’s really a bigger thing,” Grimm said, adding, “This is the public realm.”

For many people, the city lot is their first stop in Sandpoint, Grimm said, while for others it’s a feature of daily life as they commute to work, shop or socialize downtown.

Photo by Zach Hagadone.

“The pride that we put in our public spaces … speaks volumes about us,” he said.

With the ribbon cut, the parking lot is now open for public use and will remain free to access for about a year, until the city identifies, purchases and installs paid parking infrastructure. After that, users will pay a fee for either short-term use or buy a downtown business pass for long-term parking.  

Meanwhile, some trees remain to be planted and the LED light poles have yet to be put in place.

In addition, the new lot includes “formal parking stalls,” stormwater infrastructure, enhanced pedestrian pathways, and upgrades to support future electric vehicle charging stations and wayfinding, City Hall stated in an announcement, describing it as a “milestone in Sandpoint’s downtown revitalization efforts.”

“[This is] representative of what I believe is important to invest in,” Grimm said at the ribbon cutting.