Massive parking garages loom in Commanders plans
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Renderings show what a parking garage could look like, close-up on the right. Image: Courtesy Commanders filing with NCPC; architect: HKS
You don't see many parking decks in D.C., but the ones at the new Commanders stadium could be up to 110 feet tall.
Why it matters: At more than half the height of the stadium itself, the latest designs show the 11-story garages swallowing the skyline.
Context: Nats Park has above-ground parking decks, but are comparative stubs at four stories high.
- The max height of a D.C. building under the city's Height Act? 130 feet, or 13 stories, on a commercial strip.
The big picture: The Commanders are looking for sign-off from the National Capital Planning Commission and filed the new images ahead of its April 2 meeting.
Zoom in: The total number of parking spots won't exceed 8,000 spaces, the team says in its submission.
- Two multi-level parking decks will carry 75% of those spaces.
- The rest will span surface parking lots, which will also be home to tailgating in the early years of the stadium.
- Eventually, as the surface lots get redeveloped, the tailgating will move to the top level of the parking decks.
The Commanders admit some of the community feedback has urged them to consider "low garage heights."
- Their NCPC filing says they're trying to square their needs with "minimizing neighborhood impacts and preserving public open space."
The bottom line: "The assumed maximum height is 110' tall to provide the necessary number of parking spaces required for Day One," the Commanders tell the NCPC, adding that the conceptual designs are "subject to change."