SAN MARCOS: University ready to build first parking garage

Six-story structure is one of six included in campus' master plan

By ANDREA MOSS - Staff Writer | Saturday, November 15, 2008 9:39 PM PST ∞

SAN MARCOS ---- Cal State San Marcos will reach a new milestone Monday when the 18-year-old university breaks ground on the first of six parking garages planned for the campus.

The $24 million, 486,000-square-foot structure will replace Lot N, an overnight parking area on the northeast side of the campus next to University Village Apartments, the university's only dormlike housing.

University Village's 625 residents will have to park elsewhere and endure the noise and mess that comes with any construction project until the garage is finished in 2010.

When it opens, however, the six-story parking structure will provide 1,606 parking spaces for apartment residents, students who commute to the campus for classes, and other visitors. That compares to Lot N's 425 spaces.

A pedestrian bridge will connect the garage directly to the rest of the campus on a hill above the dorms, south of Highway 78 and east of Twin Oaks Valley Road.

Campus officials said the bridge will probably make the parking structure popular with students who currently park in uncovered lots scattered around the campus, then walk to its center.

Many of University Village Apartments' current residents will have graduated by the time the parking garage opens.

Even so, those interviewed last week said they were at least somewhat happy about the upcoming project because it is another sign of the relatively young university's growth.

Sophomore John Hall, a resident advisor in the dorms, counted himself among those who will be inconvenienced by the project while reaping no benefits from it.

"But, ultimately, I think it's for the greater good," he said. "To be honest, I'm totally fine with it. It doesn't bother me."

University Village's director, Brian Dawson, said the company distributed earplugs to dorm residents to help them deal with the noise of the construction that will be going on right next to the dorms.

Residents who end up having to park the farthest away also will be able to catch a free shuttle to and from their cars 15 hours a day, during the construction period, he said.

Part of long-term plan

The parking garage is the latest in a series of capital projects at the university. All are part of a master plan designed to help the university achieve its goal of eventually serving 25,000 full-time students.

Approximately 9,000 students are currently enrolled.

The university's parking director, Belinda Garcia, said the campus has more than 5,400 parking spaces now.

Brad Fenton, project manager for the university's planning, design and construction department, said the number is more than enough to accommodate all the university's students right now, since they are never all on campus at the same time.

However, he said the new parking structure will prepare the campus for the addition of a second campus housing complex and a social-behavioral sciences building. Those buildings are tentatively scheduled to open in summer 2012 and fall 2020, respectively, he said.

The university took the first step on the parking garage project in August, when it began a $3.26 million expansion of Campus View Drive to La Moree Road.

The new road section will lead to the entrance for the parking garage, whose features include metal mesh on its front and elevator shafts.

"It's not just a boring, straight-forward parking structure," Fenton said of the garage, which is being paid for with Cal State system bond money. "It has a public face. It'll be the one structure on campus that will be the most visible, so we wanted to make sure it's a good-looking parking structure."

Working out logistics

The complex's director, Brian Dawson, said its managers have had held meetings to tell residents about the project. About 500 of the live-in students have cars on campus, he said.

All but about 75 of those will fit in another overnight lot a bit farther from the dorms, he said.

Dorm residents who can't find spaces in the second lot will have to park in another parking area that is about to open even farther away, said Dawson. A free campus shuttle will add that parking lot to its list of stops, offering dorm residents a quick, easy and safe way to get to and from their cars between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m., he said.

Dorm residents who return to campus later than that will be able to call for a ride until 2 a.m. or use a campus police escort service available from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m., he said.

Senior Steve Ferreria said the parking garage project will probably be "a little annoying," especially since he won't be around to use it when it's done.

"At the same time, I understand and have been able to enjoy some of the things they've already built and some of the services they're offering," he said.

University Village resident adviser Dave Skora, a sophomore, said he was excited about the project and looks forward to using the garage during his final year on campus.

"As soon as it is up, it'll free up a lot of space and just make it a lot more convenient," he said.

Contact staff writer Andrea Moss at (760) 739-6654 or amoss@nctimes.com.

CSUSM parking garage project

Cost: $24 million

Where: Northeast side of campus, next to University Village Apartments

Numbers: 486,000 square feet, six stories, 1,606 parking spaces

Key features: Metal mesh front, elevators, pedestrian bridge that connects directly to the main campus

Completion: July 2010