Location: Salem, Massachusetts
Certification Level: Parksmart Bronze
Project Size: 237,269 square feet and 799 parking spaces
Project Manager: Gualter Almeida, Director of Facilities
Property Owner: Massachusetts State College Building Authority
Parking Operator: Salem State University
Project Overview:

The Salem State North Campus Transportation Center project began with an exhaustive siting study to determine both the best location on Salem State University’s campus and the approximate size of this proposed parking garage. To achieve highest and best land use, the team considered traffic patterns, access, parking demand, site size and topography, travel distances for cars and pedestrians, constructability issues (environmental, geotechnical, utilities), permitting issues, massing and adjacency concerns, queuing, Department of Public Safety concerns, and potential land acquisition issues. The North Campus, lower Peabody lot, was determined to be the most desirable space for the first parking garage on campus because of its close proximity to the academic class rooms and the associated University functions. Ultimately, a 725 space, two bay garage with four supported levels was constructed.

Highlights

  • A professional Arborist on the project ensured existing trees on the site were properly maintained and protected during construction.
  • Over 30 percent of the materials used to construct the garage were recycled.
  • The facility was designed with spaces for Rideshare, Low-Emitting, Fuel-Efficient, and Alternative Fuel Vehicles, and five EV charging stations were installed to provide EV owners free vehicle charging.

“Based on the anticipated environmental benefits of the project, the Authority included the financing of this project in its inaugural Green Bond issue, representing to investors that the project would be designed to achieve certification at the Bronze level.” – Edward H Adelman FAIA, Executive Director, Massachusetts State College Building Authority