Sacramento State employees, construction staff and community leaders celebrated the construction of Parking Structure V with a groundbreaking ceremony on Friday.

Sac State President Robert Nelsen, building designers Dreyfuss + Blackford Architecture, building constructors Clark Pacific and Sacramento representatives and neighborhood associations broke ground using golden shovels to celebrate Parking Structure V’s construction, which will add 1,750 parking spaces and the Welcome Center to campus.

Speeches by President Nelsen, Sacramento councilmember Jeff Harris and the presidents of both Dreyfuss + Blackford Architecture and Clark Pacific stressed the importance of the project and the speediness with which it would be completed.

Parking Structure V’s construction began at the end of the spring 2017 semester and is expected to be completed in time for the spring 2018 semester.

“Can you imagine a parking garage being built in a semester and a half?” Nelsen said. “Normally it takes three years but (Clark Pacific is) putting it together and a semester and a half.”

University Transportation and Parking Services, which will be relocating to be with the Welcome Center in Parking Structure V, also looks forward to the construction.

“We’re going to be more in the heart space of what’s happening, so we’ll be more accessible to students,” said UTAPS Communications Coordinator Julian Steele. “We’re going to be more visible too — when you drive onto campus, the UTAPS office is there — Folsom Hall is kind of tucked away so the accessibility is going to be a huge component.”

Along with the new Welcome Center and UTAPS offices, Parking Structure V will also include space for student affairs and public affairs such as press briefings.

Other features of Parking Structure V are 50 electric vehicle charging stations, security cameras, bike parking and solar panels.

UTAPS Director Tony Lucas said he hopes that Parking Structure V will be the first in the CSU system to earn a gold certification from Parksmart, an organization that certifies parking structures based on how economical they are.

Parking Structure V will also include a plaza with seating for students to relax, a starting point for campus tours and a station for food trucks.

“It’s about putting the best foot forward,” Steele said, referencing Parking Structure V’s close proximity to the northern entrance of campus on J Street. “It’s about growing into our role as our state capitol’s university.”

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