Ball State gets OK to proceed with construction of parking garage, announces State Rep. Sue Errington
INDIANAPOLIS – State Rep. Sue Errington (D-Muncie) said the State Budget Committee agreed to allow Ball State University to begin building a new parking garage at New York Avenue and Studebaker Drive.
The committee gave its approval during its Aug. 15 meeting at the University of Southern Indiana in Evansville.
“The $18 million New York Avenue Parking Structure project will replace the Emens Parking Garage, which is about 300 yards from this new facility,” said Errington. “University officials have reported that chunks of concrete have fallen on cars in the 50-year-old Emens Parking facility.
“Plus, I understand the expansion joints are not in good shape,” added Errington. “With its location, restoration of this facility would have been difficult and would have caused parking problems, because a renovation project would have entirely shut down parking there. That would be nearly 600 parking spots gone for nearly a year of renovation. The university felt restoration was just not feasible.”
As part of the project, the Emens garage will be demolished to create a green space. The new garage will also move parking and vehicular traffic away from the central portion of the campus.
“The added green space is exciting,” said Errington. “There is going to be a new east mall for pedestrians and bicyclists with a large lawn. Eventually, when enough funds are raised, there will be a pavilion or stage built on the east side of the lawn for concerts, plays and various performances. It will be a beautiful transformation of the area to better serve the needs of students and increase the quality of campus life.”
The new garage will park 600 vehicles, which means it will be slightly larger than the Emens Parking facility. In addition, there will be covered bicycle parking on the north side of the new garage. Electric vehicle charging stations will also be provided.
The project funding will use its internal reserves in the form of auxiliary funds to pay for the project, so bonding will not be necessary. The new garage should be completed during the summer of 2019.