Research Tower (Bay & Elm, 21s)
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http://network.nationalpost.com/NP/...y-street-loses-another-119-parking-spots.aspx
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Bay Street loses another 119 parking spots
Posted: April 06, 2010, 6:30 AM by Rob Roberts
By Steve Darley, National Post
The Bay Street corridor has lost another parking lot, although this time it’s for kids, not condos.
The parking lot, owned by the Hospital for Sick Children at the northwest corner of Bay and Elm streets, closed on Thursday. The space will become a construction site for the next three years as it is transformed into a 21-storey hospital building.
Ian Maher, vice-president of strategic planning for the municipally owned Green P Parking, said although the loss of the 119 spaces doesn’t seem like a lot, the fact that they are surface spaces increases the impact.
“Customers prefer to park in surface lots. They find it more convenient and some people are overwhelmed by the process of going into a parking garage,†Mr. Maher said. “So the loss of surface space to be replaced with garages is always a difficult issue.â€
Representatives from Standard Parking of Canada, who managed the Sick Kids lot, declined to comment.
According to Mr. Maher a parking lot with 120 spaces could typically handle approximately 1,000 cars per day; comprising a mix of short-stay, all day cars and monthly permit holders.
There are approximately 40,000 parking spaces in the centre of the city according to Mr. Maher, who said that even with such large supply customers can be very particular about their choice of lot.
“Parking is extremely local, 600 feet is a long way to go for short-stay parking,†Mr. Maher said. “It’s not a large portion of the supply (that has been removed) but if you are a business next to the lot it’s going to hurt you.â€
The new building will be known as the Research Tower and is projected to cost $400-million. According to Matet Nebres of Sick Kids, the project is scheduled for completion in 2013.
“It will consolidate the operations of the Sick Kids Research Institute into a new state of the art facility,†Ms. Nebres said. “It will also include learning facilities that are integral to the mission of Sick Kids.â€
About 2,000 staff will work at the new building and the project is set to include a number of levels of sub-surface parking. However Ms. Nebres was unable to provide further details of the project.
Mr. Maher said Green P invests heavily in their multi-storey garages to create positive parking experiences. He also said that in general for those people parking for longer periods of time garages tend to be better value.
“The short-stay, half-hourly rates are typically the same, but where you’ll get a big difference is in the people staying for long periods of time,†he said. “The surface lots will be a lot more expensive for he longer-stay portion of business.â€