COEUR d’ALENE — Momentum is building for a brand new parking facility that not only meets needs in downtown Coeur d’Alene, but also blends aesthetically with the historic corridor.

“We don’t want it to look like some weird Russian housing facility, we really want this to fit in,” said Sam Taylor, deputy city administrator.

The Coeur d’Alene City Council unanimously approved this week the preliminary designs for a three-story public parking garage with 360 spaces, located between Third and Fourth streets on the south side of Coeur d’Alene Avenue. The city’s urban renewal agency, ignite cda, has committed to funding the entirety of the project, which has an estimated cost of $5.9 million.

“Ignite cda is excited to see this project coming to fruition,” said Tony Berns, the agency’s executive director. “Planning and property assemblage for this facility has been a board priority for quite a few years.”

Prior to a design presentation Tuesday evening from Dick Stauffer, of Miller Stauffer Architects, Taylor detailed the need for the additional parking spots in the city’s downtown corridor. A 2016 study of parking in the city, according to Taylor, showed there is currently a deficit of 220 parking spots in the area during the peak season of summer.

Within five years, Taylor said, that deficit is projected to grow to 290 spots. In a decade, he added, the number could reach 330.

“With further growth, we’re going to continue to suffer a further deficit of parking spots if we don’t attempt to find a solution,” Taylor said. “The solution is a parking garage. This is not just a parking garage for the current deficit, but for the future.”

During his presentation on the preliminary design, Stauffer said his company focused on keeping the open-air structure simple. Other than a potential 1,000-square-foot space, Stauffer said the structure is not a mixed-use facility, which makes the money invested in the project go further.

“The economy of building this thing is important to all; we want a wise use of taxpayer dollars,” he added.

In keeping with the desire for the facility to blend with the rest of the downtown core, Stauffer said the exterior will include material that softens its look. There will also be some faux storefront on the base floor, he added, to further incorporate the facility into the area.

Opportunities were also included in the design for oversized sidewalks, landscaping and public art surrounding the facility.

The interior of the three-story structure, which includes additional parking spots on the roof, is what Stauffer called a “racetrack organization.” That will allow for motorists to loop around each floor in both directions as they look for a parking spot.

It also means there won’t be a need for any five-point turns to get out of a parking spot.

Both Taylor and Stauffer mentioned that, in conversations with business leaders and community members, a lack of parking downtown is a major reason there isn’t more redevelopment and investment in the areas of downtown surrounding Sherman Avenue. To Berns, those conversations highlight exactly why the project is a perfect use of urban renewal funds.

Strategically located public parking, Berns said, is a primary tenet of urban renewal efforts across the country. The facilities, he added, are catalysts critical to the long-term vitality of a downtown area.

“This proposed public parking facility will help drive value creation in this area of the downtown central business district, and provide community value by enhancing accessibility to downtown public space, events and Lake Coeur d’Alene,” Berns said.