Partially collapsed parking deck's affect on midtown ATLANTA, GA (WABE) - Private engineers and contractors are still trying to figure out what caused the Centergy parking deck in midtown Atlanta to partially collapse last month.

Until cause is determined and repairs are made, the deck is closed.

And that's made things inconvenient for some in the area.

Anthony Estell is walking and in a hurry. The mental health counselor spent some of his hour long lunch break working out at his regular L.A. Fitness near the intersection of Spring and 5th streets. Estell used to park in one of Centergy's hundreds of spaces. Now, he parks where he can on the street.

ESTELL: "It takes maybe 10 minutes out of my workout, you know, 5 minutes to get there 5 minutes to get back when you're walking whereas if you in the parking deck you can just kind of go park and run in and do your thing and run out again."

Estell still goes to the midtown L.A. Fitness because it's the closest one to his downtown job. However, some gym members are now working out at other locations where parking is more convenient.

The affect of parking, or lack thereof, on local businesses has been on Michael Maxwell's mind. He's the general manager of Water Haven; a nearby restaurant.

MAXWELL: "We try to be proactive on that. People are making their reservations and we try to give them a call ahead of time and let them know where they can park now."

Those parking spaces are within walking distance. However, Water Haven cannot validate those tickets like it did for Centergy. Instead, Maxwell says they're reimbursing customers.

MAXWELL: "Well it certainly is immediately money out of our pocket that we weren't expecting because our landlord agreed to give us free parking in our lease, they will be reimbursing us that money."

Maxwell did not say when Centergy would reimburse the restaurant. Across the street from Water Haven, Tamika Johnson cuts hair at Great Clips. She used to park in Centergy. Now, Johnson parks at the Varsity restaurant and walks about 10 minutes to and from work. On this day, she's walking with two bags on her arm.

JOHNSON: "Depending on what I'm carrying or the weather itself. So, yeah, it can be a real inconvenience."

Inconvenience. A lot of people in this area say that word now of days. Many including Anthony Estell are anxiously waiting for Centergy to re-open. But he's not rushing them.

ESTELL: "Because I actually worked out the day the parking deck collapsed and I left probably about 30 minutes prior to it collapsing. So, yeah I want it done right. I want to be safe."

Atlanta Fire officials say it was a miracle no one was hurt or killed in the collapse. 45 cars were damaged. Centergy estimates it will be months before the deck is open. © Copyright 2012, WABE