Birmingham plans parking garage makeover

BIRMINGHAM — Parking garages are not usually known for being aesthetically pleasing. Though the structural design of a parking garage is complex, there is often little to no interior design added to brighten up the gray concrete.

However, the city of Birmingham is planning on making all five of its parking structures more welcoming to visitors by beautifying the space with new paint and lighting.

“We are making an investment in these parking garages to improve them, and I think it is wise investment to make sure that they are not only structurally, but they are improved to the consumers eye,” Parking Systems Manager Aaron Ford said. “We want people to feel like they are safe and welcoming and inviting.”

The Chester Street parking garage, located at 180 Chester St., is currently undergoing structural repairs to address Amaricans with Disabilities Act compliance, waterproofing and more. These repairs will run until next August. The city plans to add interior design renovations to it and the other four structures. The Chester garage will be the first to see the interior design improvements.

“Obviously, with the importance that they have to our community, we want to make sure that they look good, that people feel comfortable using them, that there’s ease of ingress and egress, that there’s sufficient lighting so people feel safe, that they’re clean and well maintained and that, maybe through this, will have some artistic flair or something along the lines to make them even more attractive to users,” Assistant City Manager Mark Clemence said.

The structural repairs at the Chester garage are being done by RAM Construction. Their contract was awarded at the Birmingham City Commission meeting June 24 for just under $5 million. However, when it was approved, the new lighting was excluded from the proposal. City officials decided that they wanted interior design professionals to provide input on the lighting and paint additions, rather than the city staff coming up with it themselves.

After receiving direction from the City Commission in July, city staff drafted an  invitation to bid interior exterior design services. A firm will be selected to carry out the city’s goal of making parking garages more inviting for residents and visitors.

Five bids came back by the August deadline, ranging in price from  $67,700 to $224,187.

“Components such as the painting and the LED lights were budgeted for as part of the repairs, but specifically, the services for hiring a design consultant were not budgeted,” Ford said.

Since the design consultation portion of the project was not previously budgeted for, city staff will have to ask for a budget amendment at a City Commission meeting.

The bids will be formally presented to the City Commission Nov. 18 meeting. To watch meetings online, visit bhamgov.org/about_birmingham/city_government/watch_a_city_meeting.php.