The University Parking Office has moved into the Intermodal Transit Center, leaving the old parking building vacant and its future uncertain.
Gerard Billington, real estate officer for the university, said the owners of the Idaho Inn have an option to lease the building in the summer of 2014. He said the university is unlikely to find a new use for the building before the owners make their final decision.
The owners of the Idaho Inn could not be reached for comment.
Director of Architecture and Engineering Services Raymond Pankopf said the old parking office has not been used for some time, and the parking office has been scattered around campus.
Parking Information Specialist Becky Couch said while the university has vacated the building, the Moscow Police Department continues to use the basement for the student gun locker.
Lt. Dave Lehmitz of the Moscow Police Department said the old parking building has been used for the gun locker for as long as he can remember. He said the contract with the university is renewed on a yearly basis and so far the police department has not been notified of any changes.
The gun locker is meant to give students a place to safely store firearms since they can’t have them on campus.
Andrew Deskins can be reached at [email protected]