Downtown Parking Garage Opens Monday

From the city of San Leandro

Mayor Stephen Cassidy announced today that San Leandro's new Downtown Parking Garage will open on Monday, November 12, 2012. A ribbon cutting event is planned for Friday, November 16 at 8:30 a.m.

"We are extremely pleased to announce the opening of the new Downtown Parking Garage," stated Mayor Cassidy. "The garage will play a critical role in enhancing our downtown by offering convenient parking for employees and customers of our downtown businesses."

The new garage contains 384 parking spaces, a capacity increase of about fifty percent over the facility it replaces. The garage supports existing businesses in Downtown San Leandro by providing safe, convenient parking for employees and business patrons, while leaving San Leandro's surface lots and street parking for shoppers. A centralized parking facility also facilitates higher density development in the downtown, consistent with the goals of the City's Transit Oriented Development strategy.

Parking Permits and Fees

The parking permit and fee structure for the new garage will be as follows: 

• First Floor: Free parking limited to two hours.
• Second and Third Floors: Monthly permit parking. Permits will be $70/month for a reserved space and $45/month for unreserved parking.
• Fourth Floor: Full day parking. Free through December 31, 2012, $2.50 per day thereafter.

Parking will be free and unrestricted throughout the garage after 5:00 p.m. daily, and all day on weekends. No overnight parking between 2:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m. daily.

Downtown employees are encouraged to purchase monthly permits or park on the fourth floor of the garage, leaving the parking spaces closest to businesses for customers. For a monthly parking permit, please contact the City of San Leandro Finance Department at (510) 577-3372 or adenton@sanleandro.org for more information.  

Garage Features and Construction

Work started in November 2010 to demolish the old 1970's parking garage and replace it with a new 4-story structure. The new modern structure meets current seismic structural standards, is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and is designed for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. The design of the new garage places a strong emphasis on safety, with pedestrian access to the upper levels provided via two glass front elevators and three well-lit, open stairways. Improvements to Paseo del Oro, the courtyard between the structure and East 14th Street, include decorative paving, a new bus shelter, and landscaping, including a row of palm trees leading to the main pedestrian entrance.

The Estudillo Avenue frontage of the garage includes an office space for the San Leandro Chamber of Commerce. Plans are in the works to connect this office to the Lit San Leandro fiber network. The City also plans to add solar panels and at least six electric vehicle charging stations to the garage.

Funding for the garage was provided by the former San Leandro Redevelopment Agency and the project came in under budget. No funds from the City's General Fund were used for this project. 

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