Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center Garage Works Around Obstacles

The new garage at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center brings much needed additional parking to the bustling Houston medical center. Its new construction includes O’Quinn Medical Tower, as well as an eight story garage completed in early 2023. The 858 space garage serves O’Quinn Medical Tower’s outpatient clinic, physicians, and staff.

Facility Facts

• Location: Houston, Texas
• Spaces: 858
• Levels: 8
• Opened: 2023
• Parking Consultant: Walter P Moore
• Builder & Developer: Harvey Builders
• Architect: HKS

Market Study Guides Design

To understand the hospital’s parking requirements in the present and future, an extensive study was conducted to examine the overall need for parking on the constricted campus. The study recommended the structure’s size, number of spaces, the specific design (which required the inclusion of numerous on-site obstacles), and parking-related technology.

Going Beyond Obstacles

• Shoehorned between two existing buildings, the new garage was required to accommodate an existing and active loading dock on the campus.
• Therefore, a majority of the footprint for the first two levels was constructed over the loading dock.
• A circular helix entrance/exit ramp guides patrons up to the parking deck, which begins at Level 3.
• Further complicating the design of the garage is an existing transformer on-site.
• Because the owner did not want it relocated, an open-air notch was included in the garage’s structural design to accommodate the transformer.
• Additionally, the garage was constructed next to an existing garage, so the garages’ elevations were carefully coordinated for easy access.

Parker-Friendly Enhancements

• A parking count and PGS installed in the new garage are compatible with similar systems integrated throughout the campus.
• LPR for visitor use in the new garage facilitates seamless ingress and egress.
• Valet service is available for patients and their families, as is ample ADA parking.