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More free parking on tap for High Point

By Larry Thomas -- Furniture Today, January 19, 2003

High Point — The International Home Furnishings Market Authority has agreed to lease a vacant lot south of downtown High Point that will give marketgoers an additional 1,000 free parking spaces.

The lot, about a half block from an existing satellite parking lot at Kagan Furniture, will become part of a network of more than 3,000 free spaces in the city.

The Market Authority board approved a 10-year lease on the property at $75,000 annually. It also authorized spending up to $450,000 for improvements to the lot, primarily gravel and asphalt.

Market Authority President Judy Mendenhall said she hoped the lot would be ready for the April market, but the timing is still uncertain. When it opens, the lot will replace a much smaller satellite parking lot at nearby Marsh Furniture.

Like other satellite lots, the new lot will be served by shuttle buses from 6:45 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily during market.

The Market Authority agreed to pay for improvements to the lot after several High Point City Council members balked at an earlier proposal to have the city co-sign the lease. Mendenhall said property owner Danny Davis would have needed a city guarantee to get financing to pay for the improvements.

The Market Authority agreed to pay for the improvements in exchange for the $75,000 lease — half the amount it would have paid under the original proposal. The Market Authority will tap into its reserve funds and a budget surplus from fiscal 2002 to pay for the improvements.

In other business, the board agreed to look at moving the market dates for April 2008 and April 2011 to later in the month. Opening dates are now set for April 10, 2008, and April 7, 2011, but several board members said this April's market — which begins April 3 — is creating headaches for manufacturers who are having trouble securing fabric and other materials needed for market samples.

"It's going to be very difficult for lots of exhibitors," said board member Randy Short, president of manufacturer Stanford Furniture. "We should be able to structure the schedule so that it's always at the middle or the end of the month."

October markets always has started in the middle of the month, but April market dates have varied widely to avoid conflicts with Easter and Passover. The 2004 event, for example, begins April 22 and the 2005 market starts April 14.

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