(WARRENSBURG, Mo.) – Public parking spaces will be available for patrons of the new businesses at The Crossing – South at Holden.

Scheduled to open this fall, The Crossing is located along South Street between Holden and Washington streets. In addition to housing up to 325 UCM students, The Crossing offers a two-level, 15,000-square-foot University Store and adjacent convenience store; Starbucks coffee shop; and SPIN! Pizza, according to a news release.

The university is designating 53 spaces on the north side of the building as free parking for retail customers. A one-hour time limit will be designated for parking in this lot.

“The goal is to provide turnover in parking for the businesses in order to accommodate more customers,” said Dan Othic, captain of police operations in the UCM Department of Public Safety.

He said people who expect to spend more than one hour in the establishments can use nearby on-street parking, where there are no time limitations, according to the news release. People who arrive on campus after 5 p.m. weekdays or visit on weekends can park in university faculty/staff and student permit lots across the street  from The Crossing, but retail parking at the new complex will still have a one-hour time limit.

The retail lot at The Crossing will be the first to employ a combination of new web-based technology and parking sensors to help monitor usage, according to Othic.

“An additional benefit of the parking monitoring system is that it will allow us to analyze historical data for the lot,” Othic said. “We will be able to look at usage and determine peak use times to help us decide if additional parking in other adjacent lots is needed. It also will allow us to review the initial one-hour limit for parking and determine if it is a sufficient amount of time for patrons.”

Othic said the primary goal is to ensure the business lot is being used as it is intended — for customer use only. Those attending classes are advised to park in student lots, which also are being addressed this summer.

In addition to the 53 retail parking spaces this project provides, about 400 new spaces will open up on the west side of campus to help accommodate student growth. A new student lot expected to open near the start of the fall semester, at the corner of South and Washington streets.

The university purchased properties to create more parking west of Audrey J. Walton Stadium, between McGoodwin and King streets. Actual dates of availability for all of these new lots are contingent upon weather, which could affect construction.

For more information about parking at UCM, contact Parking Services at 660-543-4098 or parking@ucmo.edu.