Over 1,000 more parking spaces may be coming to Clemson University after the University’s board of trustees gave Phase I approval to the first on-campus parking garage at a meeting on Oct. 6.
The planned garage will be located between the new Williamson Road and the old Williamson Road down the hill behind Earle Hall. If built as planned, it will have about 1,200 spaces, almost five times the amount of spaces in the parking deck on Keith Street in downtown Clemson, according to a presentation given by the finance and facilities committee at the board of trustees meeting. The additional parking spaces will essentially add a C-1 size parking facility to west campus.
Construction for the garage is set to start in June 2025 and be operational for the Spring 2027 semester. It is estimated to cost about $80 million to build.
The garage is expected to serve faculty, students and visitors, with roughly half the spaces planned to be provided to students, according to Clemson University spokesperson Joe Galbraith.
The deck is expected to be about six stories, but due to the steep hill in the area, it should only appear to be about two stories tall on the side facing campus. Based on initial drawings and renderings, the structure will also include an outer facade, as well as a pedestrian bridge over Williamson Road to the Lee Hall area. The garage will also have parking spots available for tailgating, according to the presentation.
This Phase I approval is just the first step in a long process before the digging begins.
The project still needs approval from the South Carolina Legislature and another approval from the board of trustees when it meets again in July 2024; however, the Oct. 6 approval allows the process to start.
The parking garage’s approval comes after a 2022 parking study found that Clemson’s existing parking availability was fully utilized. The study was completed before the onset of several construction projects, including the Advanced Materials Innovation Complex, that took away parking spots.
“The projections without additional surface parking and garages, frankly, are pretty grim,” Kat Moreland, senior associate director of transit operations for Parking Services, told The Tiger in February.
Parking and Transportation Services has already taken several other steps to combat congestion on campus, including expanding the Park-N-Ride lots and funding a new CATbus line to serve Publix and nearby apartments.
Back in February, other sites were considered for the garage, particularly the Brooks Lot, but this location at the top of C-5 was selected due to the ability to conceal a large garage in the terrain while still being relatively close to the center of campus.
