Construction on a new $7.3 million parking garage in downtown Coeur d’Alene is expected to begin next Friday, Dec. 15, says Tony Berns, executive director of ignite cda, the city’s urban renewal agency.

The project is expected to be completed next summer, Berns says.

Ignite cda, which was created by the city of Coeur d’Alene but operates to some degree independently, plans to develop the parking garage and then transfer its assets to the city, says Berns.

“The city is heavily involved with design and usage … because they’re going to be the ultimate owner. They’re in it with us, but we’re basically the funder of the project,” he says.

Located on the south side of Coeur d’Alene Avenue between Third and Fourth streets, the four-story garage will house 360 spaces, he says.

While the garage is expected to ease parking troubles in downtown Coeur d’Alene, he says developing the garage is a component of an economic development strategy.

“This will help alleviate (parking shortages) during the busy summer months, but it will also allow for development of properties in the vicinity that need additional parking in order for them to be redeveloped and built,” he says. “Taking that parking requirement off the developers’ shoulders will help spur economic development in downtown.”

Some buildings already have been or are being remodeled, he says. They include the former Elks Building, at 418 E. Lakeside, and the Wiggett Building, at 117 N. Fourth.

One of the reasons investors chose to remodel those buildings is because of the incoming parking garage, says Berns.

Miller Stauffer Architects PA, of Coeur d’Alene, is the architect, and T. LaRiviere Equipment & Excavation Inc., of Rathdrum, is the general contractor.