 Soon, this may not be the main commuter lot. Image provided by Matt Finn / The Sting |
The proposed 800-space, $15.3 million structure is the centerpiece of a $34.4 million dollar infrastructure project for construction of new parking facilities at several University System of Georgia schools, including Dalton State College, Gainesville State College, and DeKalb Technical College.
The Facility Group, a firm headquartered in Smyrna, is the program manager for the project, while Atlanta-based H.J. Russell and Co. were selected to lead development and construction on the new facility January 15.
The parking deck is one part of a planned expansion onto the property of the former Elk’s Lodge immediately west of the current campus, which was bought by the university in 2006. Also planned for the space are new buildings for the Mathematics department and the School of Engineering Technology and Management.
Because state and federal grants cannot be used for non-educational facilities such as parking, funding for the new deck must be handled and approved separately from the neighboring academic buildings.
Currently, the project is to be funded by a bond issue by the Georgia Higher Education Facilities Authority and a gradual increase in student parking fees.
Although a raise in SPSU’s current $25 parking fee for students would still be considerably less than other USG schools in the Atlanta area, the possibility of commuting students having to share use of the deck with visitors and faculty has raised some eyebrows among both students and officials.
“My main concern is that the deck should go to the students whose fees have paid for it,” says Kevin Moss, Student Government Association president. “It is not economical for someone to pay 100% for what he can only use 80% of.”
Although the increase in parking spaces proposed by the new deck are not an immediate necessity – when completed, the reconfiguration of the South Marietta Parkway entrance will result in a slight increase in total parking – the addition is vital to provide the framework for future growth of the university. The contracted firms for both the parking structure and the Engineering building are planning a joint survey of their site sometime within the next month, after which plans will be finalized and groundbreaking can begin.
The Facility Group has set an aggressive timetable to the facility, aiming for the structure to be ready for occupancy by Spring 2009.
