Carrboro is one step closer to having its first parking deck after the Carrboro Board of Aldermen approved its design at a meeting Tuesday night.

The parking deck is part of the first phase of a construction project on 300 E. Main St. that will convert the existing one-story strip mall to a 5.5-acre complex.

If the Carrboro Appearance Commission approves the design, construction will begin on parking decks, the hotel and work on the eastern end of the site.

Jim Spencer, the architect of the complex, said the parking deck will be constructed of precast panels to save money and time.

The deck will also promote safety in its overall design, which includes easily visible entrances, Spencer said.

“We wanted the deck as open as possible,” he said.

Board members said they were satisfied with the design.

“For a parking deck, it looks pretty darn good,” Alderman Jacquie Gist said.

Main Street Properties spokeswoman Laura Van Sant said the Hampton Inn that will be built on the site has made significant strides to solve financial difficulties that have caused delays.

“I’m pretty sure we’ll get started this summer,” she said.

The board later reviewed a draft of an annual report of the school capacity levels in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools district.

According to the report, the school district will need a new elementary school in the 2013-14 school year to accommodate the growing student population based on current capacity limits. If the schools exceed capacity, new school construction is not required, but is recommended.

The next elementary school to be built would be a new school in Northside neighborhood, Mayor Mark Chilton said.

The board also decided to further review recommendations presented by students from the UNC Institute for the Environment to decrease the town’s carbon emissions.

The recommendations include controlling land use and educating the community about energy-saving practices.

Contact the City Editor at city@dailytarheel.com.