London taxpayers may need to spend $20 million to build parking garages downtown to revitalize the area, Deputy Mayor Tom Gosnell says.

City council voted Dec. 18 to to seek a private partner to build a garage on city-owned land on Queens Avenue and commit as much as $5 million to create 500 parking stalls.

But should the venture do well, the $5 million would only be the first step, Gosnell says.

"(The Dec. 18 vote) was just a starting point. I'd like to have (another) 2,000 spaces downtown, eventually," he said.

The city has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to try to turn around the downtown but Gosnell believes the area is still depressed, evident by the large number of parking lots where buildings should be.

Many buildings downtown are worth more as potential parking lots than sites for redevelopment, he said. That won't change until garages are built that make downtown attractive to businesses seeking office space near convenient, long-term parking.

"If it takes another $10 million to $20 million, why wouldn't we do it?" Gosnell said. "To do nothing condemns the city to what it is now."

Gosnell realizes he faces a political battle on a council that was deeply split when the issue was limited to $5 million.

Some, such as Coun. Joni Baechler, argue taxpayers have spent enough downtown.

Others, like Coun. Paul Van Meerbergen, say the city should leave it to the marketplace. If parking becomes scarce, spaces will increase in value and a garage will be built with private dollars.

"We should not be subsidizing the private sector to build parking spaces with hard-earned taxpayer dollars," Van Meerbergen says.

But Gosnell says a garage on Queens Avenue may not only be warranted, but if successful, it should be repeated elsewhere so offices across the downtown will have access.

If council doesn't invest in parking, it might just as well give up on downtown as a location for office towers, he said.

"Maybe we should let (offices) go elsewhere. That will finish off property values downtown," he said.

Council hasn't debated the expenditure in budget talks -- scheduled next month -- but has narrowly approved a strategy:

- Give as much as $10,000 per parking stall to developers.

- Spend $2.5 million a year on downtown parking.

- Grant a 10-year tax exemption for owners of garages open to the public on weekends and evenings, and a 20-year exemption for garages open to the public at all times.

- Shift the cost of development charges from developers of parking garages to taxpayers.

A study commissioned by council projects parking needs for the next decade in six parts of the downtown. It concludes four parts will have a surplus, one would be near break-even and the last, in the southwest, will be short about 108 spaces.

The shortfall will develop only if a few positive assumptions are met -- a halving of the vacancy rate in office buildings downtown and the replacement of eight surface parking lots with buildings.

The study recommends adding 750 more parking spaces downtown.