Construction has recently begun on the C-1 commuter parking lot, which will serve as a replacement for the current Redfern Health Center.
The planned 90,000-square-foot medical center’s construction site will ultimately result in the closure of roughly half of the C-1 lot, as seen in a diagram released by Clemson News on its website.
The project is scheduled to take place in five phases. The first phase began on Nov. 2, and the last phase is scheduled to conclude in May 2027, upon the center’s completion. According to Clemson News, the Park-N-Ride shuttle service from the east campus lot to the Academic Success Center will increase to compensate for this change, with shuttles now scheduled to run every six minutes.
“Parking and transportation will begin Park-N-Ride shuttle service from the P-5 and P-5 Extension lots at the beginning of the Spring semester,” due to a number of parking spaces being eliminated, according to Clemson News.
The Tiger reached Dan Hoffman, director of parking and transportation services, as well as Ryan Real, assistant director of strategic communications, for comments on the repurposing of the lot for a medical center.
Regarding the location choice, Real told The Tiger that “A site assessment performed during the planning phase of the project determined that the C-1 parking lot was the most feasible location based on its logistical accessibility.”
He stated that this location on Perimeter Road “provides visitors with a more efficient entry/exit and avoids increasing traffic through the interior of campus.”
Real discussed that the new parking restrictions for first-year and Bridge-to-Clemson students, along with the construction of the Williamson Parking Garage, will compensate for the lost spaces in C-1.
“I do not have any additional information to share other than students can use the Tigers Commute app to find real-time parking availability on campus all day long,” Hoffman said in an email to The Tiger. “Even at peak time at 11 a.m., we still have over 600 parking spaces available for Commuters that are serviced by Transit,” Hoffman continued.
Hoffman said that students are not reading their permit guidelines thoroughly when The Tiger asked about the additional measures taken with the repurposing of the largest commuter lot.
“A Commuter permit does not guarantee parking in our main Commuter lots all the time,” he said.
Hoffman emphasized that there is enough parking, but that it may not be where commuters want it during certain times of the day.
“That is not something we have any control over due to university projects,” Hoffman continued.
According to Clemson’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for FY25, Clemson has 14,068 total parking spaces. For these spaces, Clemson has issued 18,570 parking permits to students, as well as an additional 5,353 permits to faculty members, totaling 23,923 permits issued. This means there are 9,855 more outstanding permits than spaces available.
