The county’s parking lot under construction, photographed after hours on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025.
Someone asked what Linn County was building on Lyon Street south of the Armory Building in downtown Albany. The answer is: A 23-space parking lot complete with landscaping and wiring for five future electric-vehicle charging stations.
For many years the L-shaped quarter-acre lot was part of the former car dealership across Fifth Avenue. According to online records, Linn County bought the lot for $190,000 in 2017 from Mark and Kathleen Thomas.
In June the Albany Community Development Department approved a site plan for upgrading the property in line with the city’s regulations for new parking lots. The county got final approval on Sept. 4, allowing construction to start.
As submitted by the county, the plan calls for a 10-foot-wide irrigated landscape strip along the lot’s Lyon Street frontage. Nine silver linden trees will be planted all around the lot’s periphery.
The future electric vehicle spaces, required by the city’s standards for new parking lots, will be on the Lyon Street side.
Linn County General Services is managing the project and the Road Department is doing the excavation work, county spokesman Alex Paul told me. Contractors will do the landscaping and build concrete elements such as curbs and wheel stops.
The county estimates construction costs at “less than $140,000,” Paul said. “We hope to have the project completed by the end of October.”
Parking will be for county employees during the work day and for the general public after 5 p.m. (hh)
This plan shows where linden trees are to be planted on the lot’s periphery.
Perfect
So crazy that the county has to pay $140,000 to “upgrade” a parking lot based on city standards…It already was a parking lot, what is there to upgrade? The city requiring this is silly and a continued waste of money IMO…
Heck, why not just go back to gravel roads, no sidewalks, and ditches?
It seems anything the city does is half a**ed. I have found something I approve of, though….the new round-about on Waverly Drive and Old Salem Road. I don’t know if the city did this or the state or county. Can’t remember who Hasso said was in charge. Anyway, I drove there today on purpose to try making a left turn off Waverly onto Old Salem Road. It works like a dream. That round-about coming into view slows all the cars down enough that it is easy-peasy to navigate a left turn there. Used to have to wait and wait for a gap in the traffic whizzing by.
And, even if a non-union contractor is hired to do the work, state law requires that the union contract wages to be paid to all workers. That is why public projects always cost more than privately built projects.
The alley north of the parking lot, between Lyon and Ellsworth, is in very poor shape. It would be nice if it got some attention too.
Just a little googling about linden trees-
“Yes, linden trees can be messy, primarily due to aphid infestations that produce sticky “honeydew”. This substance drips onto cars, sidewalks, and other surfaces, creating a mess. While lindens are tough, low-maintenance trees known for their shade and fragrant flowers, the honeydew can also attract ants and other insects. Some varieties may also drop seed clusters, but this is less of a significant issue compared to the sticky aphid residue”