A primo downtown parking lot that's been sitting empty nights and weekends since the '90s because of political fighting will now be open to the public.

For years, the lot on the corner of Fourth Avenue and H Street, outside the former bank building that houses Anchorage legislators when they aren't in Juneau, has been a perennial sore spot for drivers headed to downtown restaurants and bars, circling the block looking for a place to park.

The lot, managed by the Anchorage Community Development Authority, will offer spots for $1 an hour, which is a quarter cheaper than on-street parking meters, said Chris Schutte of the Anchorage Downtown Partnership.

The lot will continue to be used during the day by lawmakers and staff members at the adjacent Legislative Information Office, then open for public parking Monday through Friday, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 a.m, and all day Saturday and Sunday.

For years, the Legislative Council, a committee of lawmakers that manages leases among other things, wouldn't make it available for public parking, in part because the parking would have been managed by, and turned a profit for, landlord, Bob Acree, with whom there had apparently been conflicts.

"That has been a thorn in my side and an embarrassment to the Alaska Legislature for many years," said Sen. Johnny Ellis, a Democrat. "It was basically a contest between John Cowdery and the landlord."

Cowdery, a former Republican senator, then head of the council, declined Friday to comment on the old dispute.

But new people are running things now and they wanted to make the 52 parking spaces available to the public if possible, Ellis said.

"We kind of distanced the strong personalities that had been involved in the past," Schutte said.

The main force behind the deal was Republican Ralph Samuels, a now retired legislator from South Anchorage, who made it a pet project, Ellis and Schutte said.

There were legal issues to deal with involving who would run it, Samuels said. And political ones. For example, then mayor Mark Begich was pushing to open the lot, and some opposing politicians balked at letting him get credit for doing so, Ellis and Samuels said.

Legislators also wanted to be assured use of the lot would benefit all area businesses, not just Acree, who owns Orso Ristorante and Glacier Brewhouse.

"You had to make sure to address all of these various concerns, some real and some perceived," Samuels said. "It was probably easier for somebody who wasn't running (for office again)."

Acree was in Hawaii on Friday and couldn't be reached for comment. Robert McCormick, financial manager for the Brewhouse and Orso, said he was happy about the added parking nearby, in addition to a new pay lot down the street and the new state parking garage several blocks south, which opened recently.

"There's a ton of new parking downtown," he said. "We want to be thankful for the people that put this together and not stir up the past."

There are about 12,000 parking spots, both public and private, downtown, said Rick Onstott, ACDA's parking director. Studies have shown that's enough. The problem is that sometimes a space isn't perfectly convenient, and requires people to walk several blocks. The northwest corner of downtown -- with a number of state buildings, the legislative offices, as well as popular nightspots -- has some of highest demand for parking in the city, he said. The 52 spaces will help ease that.

Samuels just happened to be strolling by Friday when workers were putting up the new public parking signs. It put a smile on his face, he said.

"After six years in the Legislature, I got to see something I did."