CUMMING — If you’ve been scrambling to find a parking place in downtown Cumming, the search may have just gotten a little easier.

On Wednesday, the five-level, 491-space Mason Street Parking Facility, located behind the Forsyth County Administration Building, opened to the public. There’s no cost to park in it.

“We appreciate everyone’s patients throughout the construction, and realize that there have been some problems with parking in the area,” said Jodi Gardner, a spokeswoman for the county.

“We’re very pleased to open the [deck] … and anticipate it to be of great assistance for parking downtown.”

By Wednesday afternoon, the deck was filling with vehicles.

“I actually walked throughout the deck earlier this afternoon,” Gardner said. “Some areas are quite full, but there were also lots of open spaces still on several of the levels.”

In addition, the county will also offer one-hour public, handicap and handicap van parking in the surface-level lot behind the administration building.

There are still some minor finishing touches that need to be done on the deck, in addition to work along School and Mason streets and the county parking lot, according to Gardner.

The facility follows the three-level, 222-space Castleberry Parking Facility that opened in June at Castleberry Road and Maple Street.

The construction of the two parking decks was part of the $100 million new courthouse and jail projects that voters approved in 2011 as part of the extension of a 1-cent sales tax program.

County Manager Doug Derrer expressed gratitude for the understanding shown by “all those who have been impacted by the parking changes that have occurred downtown over the past two years.”

“We have had some outstanding partners in the community who graciously allowed the county to utilize their parking areas while the parking decks were under construction,” said Derrer, adding that those included the city of Cumming, Tam’s Backstage restaurant and two churches, Cumming Baptist and Chalcedon Presbyterian.