Ten years after a spectacular fire tore a hole into historic Main Street in Annapolis, a gleaming brick structure has sprouted up to fill its place. But no one from the 18th century would have recognized its centerpiece: a computer-controlled parking garage.

The automated valet unveiled yesterday can neatly tuck up to 18 vehicles under the building, far too few to solve the state capital's notorious parking problems. But city officials and the new building's owner hailed it as a striking innovation that is the first of its kind in Maryland and the fourth in the country.

"Annapolis is a great historic place, and at the same time it has limitations based on that history," said Todd Manganaro, president of Columbia-based Siena Corp., which spent nearly $5 million developing the building. "We were trying to marriage the historic preservation elements with innovations in urban development."

He acknowledged the parking mechanism was "very expensive," but said, "Parking is obviously a premium downtown. Because of that, we did something different. I think that's the only way the town of Annapolis can evolve."

Annapolis architect Charles Bohl said he took care to keep the structure in line with the tradition of its Colonial surroundings. Not only does it face the brick-lined tourist magnet that is Main Street, but the garage entrance is on State Circle, which faces the state capitol building.

To demonstrate how it works, an orange "smart car," one of the tiny, popular European cars that are being introduced in the United States, was parked on a steel pallet that is enclosed in glass. The elevator lowers one car at a time from the pallet, which is on the ground floor, to one of the spots 25 feet below. Upon retrieval, the vehicles are turned to face the street.

The valet service is visible through the building's glass fa?ade, and most drivers will get no closer to using it. The parking spaces have been allotted to the suites.

After watching, Mayor Ellen O. Moyer said, "If I could afford it, I'd live here."

The building has already sold ground-level space on Main Street to La Belle Cezanne, a longtime Annapolis jeweler. O. John Baghdadlian, the store's owner and a fourth-generation jeweler, expects to relocate sometime in April. The upper floors, with sweeping views of the Chesapeake Bay and the State House dome, are still available.

"It's twice the size of my store," Baghdadlian said. "It's all brand-new construction in a historical town. ... There's a wow factor."

There's also the closure factor. After the five-alarm blaze on Dec. 9, 1997, destroyed the building, a protracted legal battle ensued between the former property owner and the city's Historic Preservation Commission.

The group sued to prevent Ronald B. Hollander from demolishing the fa?ade, which dated to 1899, before an evaluation and without its approval. But a storm in 1998 settled part of that issue by knocking down more of the structure's brick, and the city ordered what was left razed. Hollander put an orange fence around the lot, and tall weeds and trash accumulated.

Hollander later cleaned up the property under city orders, but the lot had become overgrown again when developer Anthony R. Manganaro, Todd Manganaro's father, bought it for $1.6 million in 2004.

Manganaro, chairman of Siena Corp., planned to build a residence for his family on State Circle and two shops that would front Main Street. He scrapped the plans for the residence amid objections from the commission. Construction on the 14,276-square-foot building began in June 2006.

"It enhances the economic vitality of the city," Moyer said. "It's a statement of vision, excellency and progress. It increases the standard."

Michael F. Miron, the city's economic development director, said he expected the building to have a "productive impact long-term."

"This is like the newest thing in town," Miron said. "We're literally out of space downtown. This is ... a model for any other project."

nicole.fuller@baltsun.com