Oak View Group has adjusted a major component of its proposed KeyArena renovation, with the change addressing its parking plan.
As part of its pitch to renovate KeyArena, Oak View Group called for the construction of a parking garage. The 850-stall garage was to be located on the arena’s south side, and was conceived in an effort to provide the area with more parking and was included in a detailed traffic plan.
Now, Oak View Group is changing that plan, and is instead proposing the use of underground parking. The location slated for the garage would then be utilized for a pedestrian plaza. According to the group, the idea to change this aspect of the plan came after listening to feedback on the original proposal. More from the Seattle Post-Intellegencer:
“In our proposal we provided the garage as an option to the City of Seattle,” OVG Director of Special Projects Lance Lopes said in a statement released Wednesday. “In our dialogue with the city and the surrounding neighbors — we have listened and learned — it is crucial that we make the NASC part of an open environment for all visitors to the Seattle Center campus.
“With great partnership and participation from local voices, OVG has decided to remove the above-grade parking structure located to the south of the NASC,” Lopes added.
OVG is planning on adding 400 underground stalls adjacent to the arena to help mitigate the loss of the garage, but they claimed the alteration to their plans will not result in the loss of any underground loading dock or storage space.
In place of the parking garage, the OVG plan now includes a South Plaza along Thomas Street with “increased green space, vegetation and greater ease entering and exiting the arena.”
Oak View Group, which has billed its plan as New Arena at Seattle Center, is one of two firms with a proposal on the table to renovate KeyArena. Seattle Partners–a group that includes Hudson Pacific Properties and AEG–has also come forth with a plan, and both are in response to a request for proposal (RFP) that was issued by the city. Each bid includes plans to renovate KeyArena to NBA and NHL standards.
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