Emory University Hospital Midtown Proposed Project Area Emory Midtown Aims to Use Parking Consolidation To Create Urbanism On & Off Campus
Emory University Hospital Midtown Proposed Project Area
Emory University Hospital Midtown doesn’t just want to be a medical campus, it wants to be an active urban hub. It's trying to transform its SoNo campus, the area just south of North Ave., by easing area traffic congestion, promoting public transit use and increasing retail activity.
"People do not think of a parking deck as a catalyst for promoting urbanism..."
Emory is planning to achieve these goals by building a massive parking deck.
If it sounds like an unconventional effort, the proposed parking structure is an unconventional building for Atlanta.
"People do not think of a parking deck as a catalyst for promoting urbanism, but through active collaboration with Commissioner [Tim] Keane and his staff, the proposed Emory University Hospital Midtown (EUHM) parking deck does just that," the hospital said in a statement.
The City of Atlanta Department of City Planning, through its Atlanta City Studio, engaged the hospital and their design team led by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) to create a master plan that promoted urbanism and beautiful building design. It issued a special use permit for Emory’s plans in January 2018.
"A hospital is a unique use and one that is notoriously difficult to weave into the fabric of an urban place. We are indebted to Emory for working with us to achieve something substantially better," said Commissioner Tim Keane.
It took several revisions, but after drawing inspiration from the likes of Boston, Chicago and Miami, the deck concept now boasts a streamlined, sleek, open screen design complete with a public art installation on its west side. If all goes as planned, a parking garage could be the most visually compelling building in that area.
“The base floor of the deck is also going to have active retail, further intensifying and urbanizing the area”- Commissioner Tim Keane
The deck will provide 3,000 parking spaces and consolidate five different lots within blocks of the hospital. The formerly leased lots will be made available for future active development. Emory also plans to subsidize MARTA passes at 100 percent for all its employees. It’s part of its plans to promote alternative ways of travel in anticipation of more density. The deck will have rideshare zones, commuter bicycle facilities and increased electric charging stations.
"Emory now uses shuttles to pick up employees parked across several leased lots in the area," said Keane. "By consolidating parking in one space, they’ll leave the option for more active land use on those lots. The base floor of the deck is also going to have active retail, further intensifying and urbanizing the area."
The master plan requires all of the deck’s frontage streets to be “active use,” making them more pedestrian friendly. That’s quite a contrast from today, where one of the most popular uses of Peachtree Street, is to drop off patients and park.
