Repair work will impact four downtown Columbia parking garages. What to know
Starting this month, Columbia’s downtown Lady Street parking deck will be closed to visitors and the public while contractors make repairs at the garage. It’s the first in a series of four garage closures expected to take place in coming months to see the city-owned parking structures reinforced.
The Taylor Street, Arsenal Hill and Sumter Street parking decks are also slated for work that will close them to the public. The city is doing the work one garage at a time to limit parking disruptions, according to a city press release. Monthly reserved parkers will be contacted by the city.
Work on the garages will take all year
Work on the four garages will be phased so that no two garages are closed to the public at the same time. According to a rough calendar outlined in city documents, those phases will take several months each.
- Lady Street garage: January-March
- Taylor Street garage: April-May
- Sumter Street garage: June-September
- Arsenal Hill garage: October-November
Columbia will pay North Carolina-based Carolina Restoration & Waterproofing, Inc. $1.462 million for the work at the four garages, according to an intent to award form published by the city.
Work on the Lady Street garage had previously been planned to start in November but that was delayed when the city had to re-issue its bid for contractors to do the work in order to “ensure full compliance” with procurement certifications and standards, a city spokesperson said.
The parking deck repairs are part of an ongoing effort to upgrade and better maintain the city’s parking facilities to help make more money for the city. Columbia raised parking rates last year for the first time in decades, going from 75 cents to $1.50 an hour for street parking, among a handful of other changes and increases.
Where to park if your go-to garage is under construction
Columbia has plenty of street parking downtown, and several garages close to each other near Main Street and The Vista.
Other nearby garages include:
- PJ Cannon Deck: 1227 Taylor Street
- Park Street Deck: 1007 Park St.
- Lincoln Street Deck: 820 Washington St.
This story was originally published January 2, 2026 at 11:02 AM.
