by Manuelita Beck
Daily Lobo
Despite a mid-year opening, the Cornell parking structure should meet the UNM parking department's revenue expectations.
UNM's Parking and Transportation Services Department intended the structure's revenue to pay the $5.75 million in revenue bonds that funded its construction, said Josh Kavanagh, associate director of the department. He said the structure is on target for revenue, but did not have exact figures.
"All indications are that the facility will meet our occupancy and revenue expectations," he said.
Occupancy rose steadily throughout the spring and summer, Kavanagh said, adding the structure sees about 6,000 visits each week.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Most people park for about two hours, he said. A handful of customers stay for eight or more hours.
It costs $1 an hour to park in the structure.
Through Sept. 3, people can park at half price with the self-pay option. The self-pay station is located on the second floor on the structure's west side and accepts cash, credit and check cards.
If people pay as they exit, a $1 flat hourly rate will be charged.
Terry Davis, a public relations specialist with UNM Public Events, said the structure has helped ease parking conditions for Popejoy Hall events.
During events, fewer cars are parked in residence hall lots, he said.
"Generally speaking, it is smoother," he said. "There aren't cars parking along Redondo or along the street."
Kavanagh said the Cornell structure was filled to capacity for several Popejoy events.
"We currently average about 75 percent occupancy during Popejoy events, depending on the number of attendees for the event," he said.
But many Popejoy event attendees continue to park in the south "G" lot and use the shuttle, Kavanagh said.
"The event shuttle service has continued to be very popular, particularly with symphony patrons," he said.
Kavanagh said he expects the structure to sell out during Popejoy events once the bookstore visitor lot closes when a new architecture and technology building is built there at some point in the future.
The structure is intended to replace the revenue and parking spaces lost by the School of Architecture and Planning and Fine Arts Library project.
The Cornell lot was the first phase of the project. The new architecture building is slated for a location east of the bookstore where a short-term parking lot sits.
The structure is also used for more than parking.
The UNM executive MBA alumni will have an event on the patio above the welcome center before the opening of "The Producers," said Sophie Martin, a UNM public events marketing officer.
The structure was built in a year and a half. It was originally targeted for completion in September 2003, but did not open until February 2004.
The multi-level structure has 397 parking spaces and also houses UNM's Visitor Center.
