Located near the historic district of Charleston, the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center is the regional hospital for America’s veterans. Over the past decade, the growth of the hospital has greatly outpaced the available land for parking. A new parking structure was needed to address this growing problem.

WGI was a key consultant in determining the best location, size, and physical attributes of a multi-level parking structure. Work consisted of a feasibility study of three different sites around the hospital. The most suitable location was determined and a preliminary design was carried out. The deliverables were bridging documents that were later used for competitive design-build proposals.

The design features a precast 1,003-space parking structure. Access controls are provided for the ground level with a card-in/card-out system. Other design features include open stairs, LED lighting, solar arrays on the roof, covered walkways along the edges, and a three-story American flag on the primary elevation.

Project Highlights:

• Three-bay center ramp with one-way traffic on out bays and two-way traffic on the center bay
• Solar arrays on the roof