GLEN ELLYN – Village of Glen Ellyn leaders now seem to have their eyes set on building a parking garage behind the Glen Ellyn Civic Center at 535 Duane St. to meet an increasing demand for parking in the downtown.

On April 16, the Glen Ellyn Village Board held its third workshop meeting on downtown parking options. Trustees directed staff to focus efforts on a parking structure behind the Civic Center, including looking at design, cost and potential funding options.

Officials still need to determine how to fund a parking garage, which will require a $7 million to $14 million investment. Village staff, along with the Glen Ellyn Chamber of Commerce and Alliance of Downtown Glen Ellyn, also will further study the idea of valet parking to determine if it is a viable option for the downtown.

According to a parking analysis in the village's 2009 downtown plan, there are about 3,200 parking spaces in the downtown, including public and private spaces.

"Basically, we have 1,400 spaces north of the tracks and 1,800 spaces south of the tracks," Planning and Development Director Staci Hulseberg had told village trustees during a special workshop meeting Dec. 18, 2017. "The study concluded that generally in the entire downtown, we do have a sufficient supply of parking. However, it is not necessarily convenient to the businesses or the customers that are frequenting those businesses."

A 2013 streetscape plan and parking study also concluded there was an adequate supply of parking in the downtown; however, the location, visibility and accessibility didn't match the needs of the customers and the businesses, she said.

There also is demand for commuter parking in the village.

"Our permit lots have a waiting list of close to 900 residents," Village Manager Mark Franz said during the Dec. 18 workshop. "There are not nonresidents eligible to be on that list currently. In our daily lot down at Duane and Lorraine, which consists of 230 parking spaces, it's full virtually every day."

There also is a demand for additional parking because of new restaurants opening in the downtown and employees working in the downtown, he said. In addition, the village's downtown plan calls for the potential for 400 new residents to move into the downtown in the next 10 years, he said.

Several churches also have expressed a need for additional parking, Franz said.