Construction will begin in April 2018 and take six months to complete, Vasington said. (Jon Sammis/The Daily Camus)
A new parking structure will be built next year in W Lot off of Storrs Road at the University of Connecticut.
The new structure will not precisely be a garage, according to University Planning, Design and Construction Associate Director and University Landscape Architect Sean Vasington.
“Not a garage exactly, but the project’s vision is to construct up to two decks of elevated parking above existing surface spaces in a portion of W Lot,” Vasington said. “ A separate surface lot connected by a busway may also be included.”
According to Vasington, the estimated 1,000 new parking spots will make up for the lost parking in which the planned STEM Research Center development at Lot 9 and X Lot resulted.
“Yeah, adding more parking would be helpful,” first-semester psychology major Allison Zhang said. “Because the B line goes (to W Lot), it would make it easier to get into the campus center.”
Construction will begin in April 2018 and take six months to complete, Vasington said.
If there are no delays in construction the structure should be finished by October of next year, Vasington said.
“We are still in the idea phase,” Vasington said. “However, we hope to have more definition on the project in December and intend to hold a public informational meeting at that time.”
The board of trustees approved the construction plan last June, Vasington said.
After the approval in June, the board procured an A/E (architect/engineering) firm to plan, design and engineer the project, Vasington said. They recently held the first planning meeting, according to Vasington.
Molly Desrochers is a Campus Correspondent for The Daily Campus. She can be reached via email at molly.desrochers@uconn.edu.