Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Underground Parking

[Diane Simpson (coho]

My guestimate at cost per space in Boston is $20,000 per space, 
although Chris might want to correct me on that. That was the last 
figure I heard bandied about.

We learned early on in the game that underground parking was going to 
have a substantial impact on the design. The architects (Domenick Hicks 
Krokmalnic) informed us that in order to seal the top of the 
underground parking properly the footprint of the building had to 
neatly match up with the footprint of the underground parking. A 
regular size parking space is approximately 20 feet long. In order to 
keep the price within reason you have to do double-loaded aisles.

Recommended minimum parking stall widths are 8'6" for low-turnover 
spaces, 8'6"--8'9" for low-to-moderate turnover spaces, and 8'9"--9' 
for moderate-to-high turnover spaces. A wider aisle can permit a 
narrower parking space width.  The width of the "module" (double-loaded 
spaces plus the aisle) can be anywhere from 48' to 60' depending upon 
the parking angle. For more fascinating trivia about parking, see 
"Dimensions of Parking" published by the Urban Land Institute. (1025 
Thomas Jefferson Street, N.W. Suite 500 West, Washington D.C. 
20007-5201)

What this meant for us is that we would need to have a double-loaded 
corridor building over the garage, because the dimensions required by 
the parking garage were driving the dimensions of the building. We 
therefore chose not to go with underground parking (although it was a 
very hard struggle) and we went with surface parking.

--Diane Simpson
   JP Cohousing in Boston
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On Friday, December 27, 2002, at 10:48 AM, Maggie wrote:

> Our winters in Northern Alberta can be brutally cold.  Have any other 
> groups
> felt that heated underground parking was important enough to include in
> their project?  How would having underground parking affect a cohousing
> community?  I can picture it as having potential for a multitude of 
> uses,
> like an exercise area for Rollerbladers, dogs, joggers.  Or other 
> forms of
> recreation or a place to hold large events.  I lived in a condo 
> complex once
> that had the parking underneath rows of townhouses facing each other 
> with
> pedestrian walkways and flower boxes etc between them, on top of the
> parking.  When you drove into the parking, you drove to your spaces, 
> which
> were in front of a basement door into your unit. This complex was not
> cohousing and no one knew his or her neighbours.  The kids did use it 
> as a
> way to get to each other's homes without going outside.  Would anyone 
> have a
> guesstimate as to the construction cost per parking spot for 
> underground
> parking?
> Maggie Dutton,
> Fort McMurray, Alberta. Canada.
> www.fortmcmurray.com
>
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