Parking spaces can be considered good or bad things depending on the context. Put them at ground level outside of a building or off a street – bad. Design them into parking structures or underground – good.
Ann Arbor's leaders are attempting to address that dichotomy with plans to replace a massive surface parking lot with a 500-space underground parking garage. The city's DDA has hired two firms, Walker Parking Consultants and Luckenbach/Ziegelman Architects, to design the three-story underground structure.
The DDA is also trying to purchase a few homes adjacent to the parking lot to complete the half-block parcel between the Ann Arbor District Library and the Federal Building. City officials are still debating what to put above the underground structure but there are reports of plans for a small convention center.
The design of the underground structure is set to finish in October, approved during the winter and begin construction in the spring.
Source: Adrian Iraola, project manager for the underground parking garage
Writer: Jon Zemke
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