The Fayetteville City Council Tuesday (December 18) approved a $6.6 million budget for the parking deck project.
The city council's approval means the next step will be designing the parking deck.
"We've got a team led by Garver Engineers, a local engineer here in town, they've also got local architects and significant parking deck architects,” said David Jurgens, Fayetteville utilities director.
“Experts from around the world are also working on this project," Jurgens said.
The parking deck will be located in the Dickson Street entertainment area on the south side of the Walton Arts Center. It will have around 250 parking spots.
"The preliminary layout looks like four levels on one side, three levels on the other side, and that includes parking on the roof as one of those levels," Jurgens said.
The project will be paid for by city bonds.
"There will be no taxes,” said Brenda Boudreaux, city council member. “The bonds will be strictly paid off with the parking fees."
The city council unanimously approved the budget toward building costs.
"I think everyone is really excited,” Boudreaux said. “The Walton Arts Center wanted a parking deck, I think it's going to be great once it's finished."
After this step is complet, the next is the planning process that every large scale development goes through.
"What we will do is we'll proceed with the preliminary design, take that to the city council for review and for public comment," Jurgens said.
In the construction process, the Walton Arts Center's administrative offices will be demolished.
The construction can take up to a year and a half.