Parking Garage

NREL's multi-story parking garage.

NREL's parking garage proves that large garages can be designed and built sustainably—at no additional cost. And although parking garages don't qualify for the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED^®) certification, NREL designed the parking garage to LEED Platinum standards to maximize energy savings and environmental stewardship. The structure is expected to perform 90% better than a standard garage built just to code.

Fast Facts

Cost: $14,172 per parking space
- Cost is typically $15,500 to $24,500 per parking space
Square Feet: 578,320
Parking Spaces: 1,800
Equipment: 36 electric vehicle charging stations

Energy Efficiency Features

Daylighting and translucent skylights
Natural ventilation
Façade- and roof-mounted photovoltaics (1.13 MW)
LED lights with lighting control system

Sustainability Features

Bird-friendly glass
Thirty-six electric vehicle charging stations
Incentive parking for high occupant vehicles and low emitting vehicles
Drainage swale to encourage ground infiltration of storm water and snowfall
Native and xeriscape vegetation
About 35% of building materials contained recycled content
Low-emitting building materials
Recycling drop-off center for paper, plastic, glass, batteries, and electronics

Garage Workshop

In March 2013, NREL and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) hosted the Garage Workshop with the goal of bringing together a broad set of sustainability and planning managers, construction managers, and other stakeholders to share NREL's process and transfer knowledge to others and identify and understand opportunities for replication.

Workshop Presentations

For more information, see the garage fact sheet and NREL feature story.

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