The Lake Street Parking Garage at Colorado State University in Fort Collins is among 12 winners of the International Parking Institute’s awards for outstanding parking facilities and operations in the association’s Awards of Excellence.
The competition includes common threads of innovation, efficiency, eco- and user-friendliness, cost-savings and collaboration among its winners. The awards were presented in Virginia in early June.

The CSU project won the first place award in the category of Best Design of a Parking Structure with 800 or More Spaces and earned an Honorable Mention in the Architectural Achievement Category.

Increases in enrollment and campus buildings had all but obliterated surface parking at CSU, but its new 868-space Lake Street parking structure freed up the campus core for pedestrians and public transit. The open, well-lit and secure structure houses more than 20,000 sq ft of retail and office space, as well as the University's Parking Services operation. 

Its sustainable features include reserved parking for low-emitting vehicles, onsite power via a 9,000-photovoltaic array, and onsite water management and treatment.

In keeping with CSU’s international reputation as a green university, the project is seeking LEED-Platinum certification and has been added to the Green University Walking Tour, which highlights environmentally friendly elements on campus.

The project team included owner Colorado State University Parking Services; Carl Walker Inc., parking consultant and engineer; and H+L Architecture, architect, both of Denver. 

Award winners in the 29th annual competition ranged from Chicago's first and only eco-friendly parking facility to the online reservation system that managed public busing for the multi-venue 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver. 

“Our 2011 winners serve as models for overcoming the myriad challenges facing the parking industry today, including overtaxed and outdated systems, increased use, and limited funding and resources,” said IPI Executive Director Shawn Conrad. “Whether they have rehabilitated aging facilities or addressed parking issues with innovative alternatives, these projects all have advanced the industry and improved the future of their communities.”

Award categories included architectural achievement, best design of parking facilities with less than and more than 800 spaces, innovation in programs and operations, and rehabilitation/restoration. Winners were selected by a panel of judges representing architects, parking corporations, and city, airport and university officials.