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Mall Employees Upset About Parking-Fee Hike: Village of Merrick Park Employees Questioned a Rate Increase in Their Monthly Parking Fees

Posted on: Sunday, 7 May 2006, 06:06 CDT

By Elaine De Valle, The Miami Herald

May 7--Shoppers at the elegant, upscale Village of Merrick Park often think nothing of dropping $698 for a Coach Daphne bag or $1,800 for a jacket at Etro.

But the people who work there say they can't afford to park in the shopping center's parking garage -- especially now that rates have risen almost 20 percent.

Several retail employees have refused to pay the bill and instead signed a petition that asks for the increase -- from $53.50 to $64.20 a month or from $642 to $770 a year -- to be reconsidered.

Though the rate is lower than other South Florida malls surveyed by The Miami Herald, it is less than the bill for most downtown Gables workers -- who pay $85.60 for a monthly garage permit.

Merrick Park workers still think it is too much, said Paola Campo, a saleswoman at Lonchamp Coral Gables, a French leather goods boutique.

"We work here. We are not customers who come to window shop and have lots of money to spend. We're here because we need to work," Campo said.

Vicente Pena, the parking garage manager, announced the increase in an April 13 memo. "Due to a continued increase in our operational costs and in order to bring our monthly rate within market rates in the Coral Gables area, the monthly parking rate will change," he wrote.

When asked about the increased costs, Pena referred calls to the general management office. Gina Arcic, a Merrick Park spokeswoman, gave The Miami Herald a written statement from the Maryland-based General Growth Properties, which owns Merrick Park: "We have evaluated other parking structures and have determined this is the market price. This parking garage is just another amenity that is used by the entire neighborhood, from Merrick Park employees to office workers and nearby residents."

But Campo says she researched other malls and shopping centers and found that all charge less. The Miami Herald confirmed that Cocowalk charges $50.25 a month to its employees. Bal Harbour charges $30 a month. At some malls, like Dadeland, Aventura and the Falls, parking is free.

Campo says she is among the lucky ones because she makes more than $14 an hour. But some part-timers who work in other stores, she says, make $8 an hour and work less than 30 hours a week.

"For them, it's not going to be worth it to keep working here," Campo said.

Kenia Moreno, an assistant manager at Godiva chocolates, is also lucky: Her boss pays the parking for management staff. But while the rate increase may not affect her pocket, it affects her personnel. "I had one woman who was perfect," Moreno said. "She had the right experience, the right attitude. She was hired." Then they told her about the parking fee. "She never came back."

Moreno says some workers carpool to share the fee. Others park at the Metrorail station and take the free Coral Gables Trolley, though some don't have that option because they leave after the trolley stops running.

Hector Ortiz, manager at the Carolina Herrera shop, says management is treating employees like the upscale clientele.

"It's a little ridiculous to charge so much money from employees," he said. "They are coming here to work to make money, not to spend it."

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Miami Herald

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Source: The Miami Herald

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