To meet the parking demands of an increasing enrollment, Lone Star College System looked to HarrisonKornberg to design a new 1,000 space parking garage on their Montgomery Campus. The three-bay, five-story parking structure totals 368,000 square feet and relieves the packed parking lots on campus, which has seen 120 percent growth in enrollment since 1999.
Situated on the west side of campus, the pre-cast concrete garage can be easily accessed by entering campus via West Campus Drive—directly across from College Park High School. The structure nestles in a wooded site next to academic buildings and the new Student Services Building and Conference Center. Dark red precast spandrel panels mirror the campus’s typical brick color and are enlivened by vertical reveals that suggest the forms and shadows of the surrounding tall pines.
The garage also houses the central command center for the campus police department, which is positioned along the major pedestrian path. Emergency generators ensure the command center will remain operational during severe weather and natural disasters.
The team’s selected structural system allowed for efficiency and speed to meet the project’s aggressive one-year design and construction schedule. The project was budgeted at $10,000 per car, or $10 million total. Our design-build team completed the garage on time for a final construction cost of $8,439,200 – saving Lone Star more than $1.5M.
This was the first construction project completed within the entire Lone Star College System as part of their 2008 bond referendum. Opening in time for the first day of classes, the new parking facility was met with a lot of excitement. “In the past, parking has been an issue on campus, so when I heard that it would be open for the first day of classes, I just drove straight there to avoid any parking lot congestion,” said Daniel Gonzales, a student at Lone Star College-Montgomery.
Daniel GonzalesI think that this parking garage is great for the campus. It’s easy, convenient, and I plan to use it every day this semester!
Student at Lone Star College-Montgomery
