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Bellemeade parking deck's end nears, city says repairs aren’t worth the cost

After a city-commissioned engineering reporting, the Bellemead parking deck is set for demolition over lingering safety concerns with the top of the deck.

GREENSBORO, N.C. — The Bellemeade Street parking deck is on borrowed time. 

In just a few months, the city plans to close it and tear it down sometime after mid-February.

The top level of the deck has the most damage, ranging from damaged support beams to cracked concrete walls.

The city said the issues are due to the quality of materials used during its construction in 1989. Fixing the deck would cost more than it’s worth.

“So some of the materials that were used in that construction were just showing stress. We don’t make buildings like that anymore,” said Eric Chilton, the city of Greensboro’s strategic and crisis communications manager. “But the routine maintenance checks on all the other decks, so a lot of people will say, ‘well if I go to this deck is that gonna be,’ and there are checks on all those. None of those to this date have been flagged.”

For now, the ground level of the deck is open for parking until February 15, but many people have already moved to other decks.

“Anything like that wherever it may be is always a concern,” said Chris Brown, who parks at the Marriott parking deck. “I think it’s been found on the upper floors, but that’s even more of a concern on the lower floors because if it starts, it’s going to come down.”

The deck’s closure is a big change for people who rely on it, like those attending the Franciscan Center.

The Catholic bookstore hosts Wednesday Mass, and Father Louis Canino worries his older congregation will stop showing up.

“I can’t have senior citizens walk three blocks. They’re not gonna do it, and I don’t blame them. I don’t think it’s fair to them. There’s really a parking issue,” said Canino.

The city doesn’t have plans beyond the destruction of the deck, but there are three other parking decks all within about a quarter mile of the site.

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