KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A popular downtown parking garage will no longer offer free parking on nights and weekends.
The Promenade Garage is located off State Street and provides easy access to Gay Street businesses like Mast General Store and Downtown Grill and Brewery. It has around 280 parking spaces.
The Knoxville Utilities Board owns the garage and confirms that Premier Parking will take over the management from PBA. Starting February 1, it will cost $3 to park up to two hours or $7 for 3 - 24 hours. A limited number of monthly passes will also be sold.
The City of Knoxville and KUB worked on a transition plan due to changes in downtown parking dynamics, officials said. They picked the new parking operator after requesting proposals and speaking with businesses in the area, officials said. They also spoke with parkers about the transition.
The garage was leased to the City of Knoxville in 2006 so that it could offer free nights and weekends to help with the development of the downtown area.
A number of city-owned garages will remain free on nights and weekends, including the recently expanded State Street Garage, which is located across the street from the Promenade and includes a pedestrian walkway over to Gay Street.
There's room for about 16,000 vehicles in the State Street Garage after the city invested around $11 million to add two decks in 2019, according to city officials.
The Market Square and Locust Street garages also provide convenient access to that part of downtown. They are also free after 7 p.m. and on weekends.
The city has an app and website that you can use to find out how many spaces are available at each garage.
The app is called Parkopedia. If you have an Apple device, click here to download. If you have an Android, click here.
You can also get to it on Parkopedia.com.
