City officials tout the new downtown Morgan Hill parking structure—which is set to open next month—as much more than a garage.
The 3.5-story, 273-space building is mostly known to residents as the display board for two prominent public art pieces that decorate the exterior. But inside—and within the details just outside the structure that sits between East Third and Fourth streets—are features that facilitate the city’s downtown vision of a multimodal transit-oriented neighborhood, as well as a destination and gathering place for public events.
There is even more public art inside, and the project—which includes new retail space on Third Street—is also a tribute to the natural resources and agricultural history of Morgan Hill and the “Sunsweet” property on which the garage lies.
“I think this is going to be the most beautiful parking garage, anywhere,” Morgan Hill Economic Development Manager Edith Ramirez said on a March 25 tour of the facility. “It has amazing art, it blends well into the rest of downtown and it has beautiful vistas. Morgan Hill should be very proud of this structure.”
Inside are interactive features that inform visitors what businesses and amenities they can find in downtown Morgan Hill, along with electric vehicle charging stations and bicycle lockers.
“We wanted to make the garage very friendly. All the parking spaces are full-size” rather than compact, Ramirez noted.
The facility’s floors are color-coded in line with the mineral poppy jasper’s color scheme, which features different shades of red, yellow and orange. The north side of the top floor is reinforced to allow public events and large crowds of visitors for car shows or live performances. This space will be available for rent, Ramirez said.
The Third Street plaza, which encompasses the front of the new retail space and the area under the branches of a giant oak tree, contains planter boxes and furniture made of lumber, tin and other materials “repurposed” from the former Sunsweet site, Ramirez explained. Chairs in front of a public high-top table, where visitors can plug in their phones or laptop computers for al fresco browsing, resemble tractor seats.
A wooden deck under the oak tree that covers the new plaza between Huntington Station restaurant and the garage is designed to protect the tree’s root system, Ramirez added. This structure can also accommodate a band or other type of live performer.
“It will be great when they finish it,” said Morgan Hill resident Wayne Lunceford, who was walking by the garage’s pedestrian entrance on Third Street with wife Jane earlier this month. “We’re looking forward to there being more activity in this area.”
Jane added, “It is very attractive. We’re ready for it to open.”
A walkway exiting the west side of the garage connects the facility with existing restaurants as well as planned new construction closer to Monterey Road.
For security, the interior of the garage is equipped with surveillance cameras and blue call boxes that ring directly to the police station with the touch of a button.
The three-story elevator shaft contains windows that allow visitors to see their change in perspective over downtown.
Occupants of the 4,000-square-foot retail shell are not yet determined. Developers Rodrigues/Imwalle have a contract with the city to serve as that property’s landlord. The space can accommodate up to three tenants, and interior improvements can be built to suit their needs, Ramirez added.
