In 1995, the City of Palo Alto decided to build two new parking structures to alleviate the shortage of spaces in the city's central business district.

Bryant/Lytton Parking Structure, Palo Alto Photo by Matthew Millman

The structures needed to be of an appropriate scale and architectural style to blend with its neighbors while maintaining downtown appeal for pedestrians. Both structures were designed, bid and built simultaneously under one contract. Eight years later, just in time for the 2003 Christmas shopping season, the parking structures opened near University Avenue.

The $15.5 million Bryant/Lytton Parking Structure (five levels above grade, two basement levels) utilized imported limestone and sandstone to embellish the classical lines of the structure. Its L-shaped footprint gracefully wraps around and complements the existing Victorian and Mediterranean office structures. A portion of the parking is set back from the prominent street corner to make room for a stone-clad commercial space integrated into the structure. A courtyard embellished with a sculpture was created between the commercial space and the parking.

Delivering the parking structure on time was a challenge from the outset of construction. The schedule, however, was non-negotiable since the city could not be late delivering the parking structure to the downtown merchants. The Christmas shopping season is "prime time" for the city's retail businesses and providing adequate parking for shoppers in time could make or break the merchants.

Heavy winter rain caused delays during construction of the two-level basement and the blindside waterproofing against shoring walls.

The contractor was able to make up time through careful planning of the finishes and working weekends.

An extensive use of natural stone imported from Spain and Italy resulted in lengthy ordering, cutting and delivery times. Precise planning and coordination by the stone subcontractor and general contractor prevented on-site shortages due to fabrication errors.

Traction elevators exposed in the glazed steel structure required precise steel fabrication and even more precise butt glazing.

The contractor took special effort to ensure that the heavy steel frame structure was accurately fabricated and installed to ensure that the tempered, custom-cut glazing would fit.

The project was delivered on time and under budget.

The Development Team

Owner: City of Palo Alto
Architect of record: Watry Design Inc.
Design architect: Carrasco & Associates
Construction manager: Turner Construction
General contractor: McCarthy Building Cos. Inc.
Engineers: Watry Design Inc.
Nolte & Associates (civil)
Gayner Engineers (mechanical/electrical/plumbing)
Lowney Associates (geotechnical)
Key subcontractors:
Von Kohorn & Kitzmiller (signage and graphics)
Sam Smidt (art)
Luminae Souter Associates (lighting)
Catalyst (landscaping)