Conceptual drawing by BWBR Architects.

Trouble parking downtown? You’ll soon have a new option. A three-story, 570-stall parking ramp will rise in downtown Eau Claire after the City Council voted Tuesday evening to approve the project. The structure, which will be built next to the RCU and JAMF office buildings on a current parking lot and the former site of the U.S. Post Office, will cost an estimated $8.5 million. After a public hearing Monday night and further discussion Tuesday, council members voted 9-1 in favor of the structure, with Councilwoman Monica Lewis casting the lone “nay” vote. During the workweek, spots in the ramp will be leased to RCU and JAMF and likely to businesses that will locate in a “liner building” that is expected to be built in front of the ramp along North Barstow Street. At other times, the ramp will be available to the public. City officials, citizens, and council members had weighed whether the long-sought-after ramp was needed at all (the city is contractually obligated to provide parking spots to JAMF and RCU), and whether it should have three levels or four. The latter option would have included 769 parking stalls but would have cost an additional $2.3 million. The council chose the three-level option, but it could decide to add a fourth level later if private development in the neighborhood picks up, generating more funding for the special Tax Increment Financing District that includes the ramp, the Leader-Telegram reported. Market & Johnson of Eau Claire was the low bidder for the project, and construction may begin as early as this spring.