Next week work will begin on a six-story parking structure at the visitors lot between Popejoy Hall and Johnson Center.
"We're always looking at ways of increasing short-term parking," said Josh Kavanagh, associate director of Parking and Transportation Services.
Kavanagh said construction will begin on or around Sept. 9, with excavation crews tearing up pavement, establishing a perimeter fence and removing dirt for the 400-space garage that will have one partially subterranean level.
The project will be paid for with a $5.5 million bond that is scheduled to be paid back over a 30-year period. The bond will be paid for by revenue generated from the garage once it opens. Kavanagh said the garage will be entirely self-supporting by producing enough annual funds to cover its annual expenses.
The new garage will be a visitors lot with hourly pay rates.
Also included in the design plans will be a cafÇ and visitor's center that will accommodate the Communications and Marketing department as well as University visitors.
The structure is scheduled to be completed in about 300 days and will mean the effective closure of the visitor lot between Popejoy Hall and Johnson Center. Parking and Transportation Services has already begun to convert a portion of the permit and meter lot on Redondo Drive, south of Johnson Center, into a temporary visitors lot with hourly rates and pay upon exit services.
Kavanagh added that the number of parking spaces available to A lot permit holders will not decrease during the garage's construction. The number of A lot spots lost to the temporary visitors lot will overflow into the former visitors lot directly west of Johnson Field.
According to parking and transportation, the 39 meter spots south of Johnson Field will be eliminated during construction, but are projected to be re-established after the project is completed.
The visitors lot east of the UNM Bookstore will not be affected by construction.
The semi-circle drop off point north of the bookstore will be closed during construction but sidewalks will remain open, Kavanagh added.
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Kavanagh said once construction begins, motorists who use Redondo Drive may experience delays.
The garage, designed by Antoine Predock and Jon Anderson, will feature an open top level, elevators, handicapped parking spots, exterior staircase and a reflective screen along the south faáade.
The design of the garage is meant to compliment the design of the new School of Architecture and Planning that will be built in the visitors lot east of the bookstore.
Kavanagh said construction on that project will begin after the garage is complete next year.
Before construction, the two visitors lots north and south of Redondo have 201 parking spaces. Kavanagh added there will be 173 spots available during construction and once work on the garage is complete, 400 spots will be available.
