The crane that’s been towering over Concord for the past several weeks will be gone soon, state officials said Thursday, as they gathered downtown to place the final panel on the Legislative Parking Garage that is set to open next year.
The structure may look complete — after all, the outer shell and the ramps are in place — but infrastructure must be built in to support more than 400 cars. Officials estimate the garage won’t be operational until March.
Nevertheless, they reflected on the long journey to get to this point. Legislators have hoped to build a garage like this one since they developed the Storrs Street deck 50 years ago.
“I can’t tell you how thrilled we were when that first panel went up because that really marked, we are on a path that this is actually going to happen,” said Senate President Sharon Carson, “and we were so, so excited about that.”
House Speaker Sherman Packard (left) and Senate President Sharon Carson, both Republicans from Londonderry, recall how long the Legislative Parking Garage has been in the works. Credit: CHARLOTTE MATHERLY / Monitor 
A construction worker fires up the crane to lift the final panel onto the Legislative Parking Garage in downtown Concord. Credit: CHARLOTTE MATHERLY / Monitor 
Construction crews lifted the final outer panel onto the Legislative Parking Garage on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025. Credit: CHARLOTTE MATHERLY / Monitor 
A construction worker helps hoist the last panel placed on the Legislative Parking Garage set to open in downtown Concord. Credit: CHARLOTTE MATHERLY / Monitor
The garage stands at the site of the former Department of Justice building, which was torn down last year. The gray exterior, in keeping with the architectural style of the State House and the Legislative Office Building next to it, looms over the corner of State Street and Capitol Street. Concord Mayor Byron Champlin praised the garage’s design, saying it’ll fit in well with the historic district downtown.
Concord city manager Tom Aspell said the city has worked with the state to double up on construction projects. The city wanted to redo area sidewalks a few years ago, he said, but they waited and timed it with the state’s garage to try and save taxpayer dollars.
He also had one more ask for state officials: Once the other garage is out of use, get it out of the way so Concord can launch its next endeavor.
“We’re really looking forward to, for the next phase of this project, to take your other garage with you down on Storrs Street,” Aspell said. “We have big plans for the redevelopment of that, of Storrs Street and for the community.”
