The university officially announced the construction of a $12 million 500-vehicle parking garage on the north side of campus. (Courtesy Photo)
On Thursday, Mississippi State University announced a project that could help solve some longstanding issues on campus.
The university officially announced the construction of a $12 million, 500-vehicle parking garage on the north side of campus. The garage will help alleviate some of the growing university’s parking woes upon its completion. Currently, MSU’s enrollment is the highest in the school’s history with more than 22,000 students. The project was approved by the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees Thursday.
Mississippi State Chief Communications Officer Sid Salter said the garage has long been a goal of MSU President Mark Keenum.
"Obviously with continued growth in enrollment and in the number of students who have vehicles on campus, parking is and has been a rather constant challenge for us here on campus,” Salter said. “The construction of this 500-space parking garage on the north side of campus will help us in several ways.”
Salter said the garage’s location near Howell Hall and many MSU sports venues, would bring more parking spaces to an area needing them He also said the garage would offer additional parking for game days. He also said the garage would make it easier to transport those with ADA assistance requirements.
“It’s an excellent solution to a problem that has continued to escalate as one of the consequences of our growth,” Salter said.
Despite saying the garage would help alleviate parking issues on campus, Salter said it would not solve them all.
“When it’s completed, it will be a huge improvement over where we are now,” Salter said.
The Tupelo-based architectural firm McCarty Architects is serving as the lad architect on the project, assisted by national planning and design firm Kimley-Horn is also assisting with the project. The project is anticipated to be complete sometime next year. The structure is designed to match the university’s current architectural characteristics. It will also feature the capability to generate more electricity than it will use thanks to solar panels.
In addition to the garage, 350 parking spaces will also be added where the old intramural fields are located, adjacent to the Fresh Food Company.
“These spaces will help, and we are adding the number of spaces that data shows we need,” Said MSU Parking and Transit Services Director Jeremiah Dumas. “We also have one of the lowest permit prices in Mississippi and the Southeast, and would like to continue to offer a very reasonably priced permit relative to our peers.”