Parking Garages Are the Gateway to Customer Experience
A parking garage is not just where you leave your car – it’s the front door to your facility. It is the first and last impression your client has of you.
More importantly, it is an opportunity to provide an elevated customer experience.
This is the design philosophy of Russ Combs, GLHN’s Director of Design and lead Architect for the Catalina parking structure. Situated in the redeveloped Park Central Mall, it serves Dignity Health’s headquarter office, the 200-unit Millennium apartment building and Creighton University’s new medical school. “Our goal was to develop an innovative and visually attractive structure that would welcome a diverse group of users, while staying within budget” says Russ.
Creative Design and the Community
The typical design tactic is to hide a parking garage: dig it into the ground, tuck it behind a mountain, squeeze it into the ally. But at Park Central, this was not an option. First, the team was building the largest parking structure in the state of Arizona – 11 stories tall and able to park more than 2,000 cars. Not easily hidden, the garage needed to blend into the fabric of the area. Second, the zoning regulations required that the design feature a Mid-Century Modern look. GLHN developed several concepts for discussion with Plaza Companies, the owner. The final design demonstrates our creativity meshed with our technical understanding to meet design criteria.
Creativity doesn’t end at the pre-cast walls – public art would be a key component of the design. The City of Phoenix would select the artists, but the structure needed to provide a canvas. The building façade includes blank panels on the outside of the building to showcase local artist work. The design team went one step further and created an art walk. This was an important pedestrian connection through Park Central and to the Valley Metro light rail stop on Catalina Street and the City of Phoenix wanted to enhance the streetscape. The pedestrian path along Catalina Street includes decorative paving, lush colorful landscaping, shading, and seating. There is room for future art installations.
Efficiency
This was an efficient project from top to bottom. As the Catalina Parking garage serves both residential and offices, traffic flow was developed to accommodate a large number of vehicles flowing in and out at the same time. It’s the tallest parking garage in Arizona at 11 stories tall, but you can reach the top with only six turns. This design feature is not only efficient, but it improves safety as well. Most of the concrete and materials were sourced locally and energy efficient electric charging stations. The biggest benefit comes from the nature of this infill project. An inefficient 200 vehicle surface parking lot was replaced with a fun, colorful structure that provides a place your car, might give you a place to live, encourages you to meander toward public transportation while supporting local artists. This project is an integral part of transforming the iconic Park Central Mall into a dynamic, revitalized, mixed-use project in the heart of midtown Phoenix.