Metro Parking Decks – Waiting on the Train
Loudon Gateway and Ashburn Station South Parking Garages
Commonwealth Architects, in association with structural engineer Walter P. Moore, civil engineer Pennoni, MEP engineering group AKG, and design-build partner S.B. Ballard Construction Company, teamed to design two Metro Parking Structures for the County of Loudoun, Virginia. This project involves the design and construction of two, six-level parking structures that will provide 1,971 parking spaces at Loudoun Gateway Station Parking Garage and 1,553 parking spaces at Ashburn Station South Garage.
As part of a transit-oriented development plan, the decks, which will have direct access to the new Metrorail Stations, will provide long-sought-after transportation pathways that will connect commuters from the Loudoun County corridor to Washington, D.C., and travelers to Dulles International Airport. The Loudoun Gateway Parking Garage will connect to the Loudoun Gateway Station via an open-air covered pedestrian bridge. The Ashburn Station South Garage will connect to Ashburn Station, which will be the new western terminus of the Silverline.
Commonwealth Architects designed both decks to Parksmart certification standards. Parksmart is the world’s only certification system designed to advance sustainable mobility through smarter parking structure design and operation. Parksmart complements LEED and other certifications and is administered by Green Business Certification, Inc (GBCI). Both decks will include full electronic parking guidance systems (red light/green light sensors) and several electric vehicles charging stations as well as bicycle parking areas to be used by commuters.
The exterior of the Ashburn Station South Parking Garage consists of buff-colored precast concrete panels and spandrels with thin brick, with light and medium sandblasted finishes. The exterior of the Loudoun Gateway Parking Garage consists of buff-colored precast concrete panels and spandrels with acid-etched and medium sandblasted finishes.
These two parking structures are part of the two-phase, 23-mile extension of Washington’s existing Metrorail System by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA), which follows the Dulles Greenway Toll Road. This extension of the Silverline offers the highest ridership potential with the fewest impacts on residential areas and the natural environment.
The Ashburn Station South Garage and the Loudoun Gateway Parking Garage have been completed and are awaiting trains and passengers.
