Heritage District Parking Structure and Master Plan

Award-Winning Parking Structure

The Heritage District is the cultural and historical center of the Town of Gilbert, the 6th largest in Arizona. Over the last 10 years, the District has transformed into a shopping, dining, entertainment, and civic destination, which remains active during all hours on weekdays and weekends. Walker Consultants has a long working relationship with the Town, performing design work, restoration work, and other consulting for new and existing structured parking assets within the Heritage District.

New Parking Structure Enhances Heart of District

Walker provided structural and functional design for a new parking structure in the heart of the booming District. Walker designed the garage with a cast-in-place, post-tensioned structural system and used Construction Manager-at-Risk project delivery. The structure includes provisions for a mixed-use component (police station, commercial or retail space, or other amenity) on the ground level. The structure was designed to provide an overall parking experience equivalent to a Level of Service A, with wide drive aisles and provisions to separate self-service parking from valet.

The architectural theme selected for the structure helps it blend in with the Heritage District. The project includes improvements to nearby Hearne Plaza, bike racks, benches, restrooms, and water fountains, and provisions for a 30’ x 20’ electronic media board on the west façade for amphitheater-style movies. Other garage features include communication and security systems, bird deterrents, and an electric vehicle charging station.

The project was awarded Best Design of a Parking Facility by the International Parking & Mobility Institute.

Master Plan Will Support District’s Future Growth

In 2020, Gilbert engaged Walker to create a comprehensive Parking Master Plan for the District. The District’s Redevelopment Plan calls for hundreds of thousands of square feet of additional office, retail, and hotel space, in addition to more than 2,000 new residential dwelling units, by the year 2030. The Town wants to understand how its existing parking is being used, and how and when new parking would be needed to accommodate the planned growth.

Walker is examining a myriad of different items, including existing parking conditions, projected future parking needs, management and operations strategies, signage and wayfinding, technology alternatives, and micro-mobility. Walker is also evaluating peer communities’ parking strategies to give Gilbert a reference point from which to evaluate recommended policies and solutions.

Walker will provide the Town with a modeling tool that will allow staff to independently fine-tune and adjust future parking needs as the District evolves, as well as a full evaluation of future parking structures, including size, location, cost, and access. This tool should reduce the need for future parking studies. Walker will also provide strategies for parking operations, policy and code development, curb management, micro-mobility, signage and wayfinding, and parking guidance systems.

The Town of Gilbert will have a full suite of recommendations and strategies to properly address future parking needs in the District as it builds out.