Drivers advised to remove their vehicles from Avenida South Garage before demolition: Houston First

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A parking garage near the George R. Brown Convention Center will be demolished on Monday, and all vehicles left will be towed, according to the Houston First Corporation.

Houston First and its development team said that all cars parked at the Avenida South Garage must be removed before 5 p.m. on Sunday to avoid being towed.

According to officials, no new vehicles would be allowed to park in the garage starting at 12 a.m. on Sunday.

"They're definitely going to get towed, or they're going to have some very flat cars at the end of the day," East Downtown resident, Camden Kirkland, said.

Kirkland lives in the area and is a member of People for Polk St., an organization against the closure of Polk St.

According to Houston First, after the garage closes, all car traffic on Avenida de las Américas between McKinney and Lamar, directly in front of GRB, will be restricted to Hilton valet-only. Another closure due to construction will be Polk Street between Chartres and Jackson Streets.

Last year, Houston First and Mayor John Whitmire unveiled plans to give the area a makeover.

"One of the things that we would have liked to have seen is a little bit more community involvement in the process of how they're going about doing that," Kirkland said.

Last week, demolition began on the skybridge between the convention center and the garage.

A new parking garage at Chenevert and Bell Streets is expected to open this fall.

The first phase includes the expansion of the GRB, which is expected to open in 2028.

Still, these changes are leading to current travel headaches for people living and visiting the area, according to Kirkland.

"If you are a resident of East Downtown or even if you're just coming downtown to see a game or anything like that, this is now becoming a huge blockage to the traffic going through the area," Kirkland said.

SEE ALSO: Plans to 'reimagine' convention district include 700,000-square-foot expansion of GRB