Over 1,000 new parking spaces opening to public in Downtown Wilmington

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Concert goers, visitors and special event attendees will soon have a new option when it comes to parking in Downtown Wilmington.

On Tuesday, Wilmington City Council approved the parking deck on the Front Street Thermo Fisher campus to be open to those attending concerts at the Live Oak Bank Pavilion, starting August 6th.

With an estimated 6,000+ visitors for each show at the pavilion, this new addition adds more space for guests to park, while providing closer access to special event locations.

The parking deck includes 1,022 spaces, all of which will be open and accessible to visitors.

A special event rate of $20 will be required to park in the deck.

As of now, the current gated technology installed at the Thermo Fisher parking deck is out of date, and does not support a paid public parking environment. There is only a card access control system.

The dates and cost of installation, modifications and additions to the deck to allow for public use are currently being finalized. However, the city anticipates the cost to be cheaper and more economical versus a gated parking environment.