University's first parking deck to open today
A partial opening for Virginia Tech’s first parking deck is scheduled for today.
There will be approximately 800 spaces available, with the remainder of the garage expected to be open by early October.
Faculty, staff, and visitor parking will be available on levels one and two. Commuter/graduate parking will be available on levels three, four, and five. A valid university parking permit will be required.
The over 1,300-space garage, located in the large commuter parking lot off of Prices Fork Road and Perry Street, has many features that enhance the sustainability of the project and was also designed with the involvement of Virginia Tech’s Police Department in order to keep safety in mind.
The Perry Street Parking Deck, which was begun in August 2009, was designed to be very open with large spaces on every floor and on all four sides of the building. The ceiling height was also designed to be as high as possible which allows the maximum amount of fresh air to pass through, creating natural ventilation of the vehicle fumes. The amount of daylight that will be allowed in through these openings will also decrease the amount of time needed for the interior lights to be on.
The parking levels of the deck have been outfitted with LED light fixtures. These lights will reduce energy consumption due to their use of significantly less power for operation. In addition, they have a longer life expectancy than their metal halide counterparts keeping them out of our landfills.
During the project, as many non-volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as possible were used for adhesives, sealants, primers, and paints. In addition, painting in general was limited, which will require less painting and repainting in the future to maintain the structure. Many parking garages are painted white for better reflectance but a lighter color concrete was selected in order to avoid the need to paint the new deck.
After the deck opens, work will continue on the exterior of the site. Many more green features will be included during the last construction phases. Some of those initiatives include solar panels and also new landscaping with grass and trees surrounding the garage that will actually decrease the amount of impervious surfaces in the area prior to construction.
The open structure design contributes to sustainability initiatives but it also serves a safety purpose. The daylight will allow users maximum visibility and will also allow those outside of the structure to be able to see inside which eliminates the secluded feeling that is often associated with parking structures.
The four stairwells, one located at each corner of the building, and two elevators, located in each south tower next to the stairwells, will be enclosed in glass. This design feature was selected to allow maximum transparency, both in and out of the stairwells.
The environmental benefits of the LED lights are easy to realize but this lighting style has an additional bonus to the campus community: safety. The quality of light that is emitted is a very bright, white light which eliminates many shadows that are common in parking garages and increases visibility allowing those using the garage to be fully aware of their surroundings.
For more information about the Perry Street Parking Deck or other parking related topics, please visit the Parking Services website.
Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech takes a hands-on, engaging approach to education, preparing scholars to be leaders in their fields and communities. As the commonwealth’s most comprehensive university and its leading research institution, Virginia Tech offers 240 undergraduate and graduate degree programs to more than 31,000 students and manages a research portfolio of $513 million. The university fulfills its land-grant mission of transforming knowledge to practice through technological leadership and by fueling economic growth and job creation locally, regionally, and across Virginia.
