The design for the new Sounder parking garage to be built in Kent for train commuters will have a modern urban village theme.
Sound Transit released the vision statement this month based on feedback in the spring from about 200 people who participated in an online open house and station drop-in session about preferred design elements.
Construction on the garage, at East James Street and Railroad Avenue North, is expected to begin in late 2023 with completion in 2026. The project will cost an estimated $121 million (in 2022 dollars) for the garage and access improvements, according to Sound Transit’s Annual Program Review released in April.
“The garage design shall take cues from the rich history of Kent’s vibrant downtown while looking towards the future, reflecting the city’s growth in tech savvy industries; providing a space of convergence between the historic and contemporary,” according to Sound Transit.
The garage, which will have 534 parking stalls, sits on a prominent corner in an urban area with all four sides visible to the public.
“The overall design must reflect a comprehensive concept, with a clearly identifiable point of entry,” according to Sound Transit. “It shall lend itself to an urban area, activating its surroundings by being lively with a modern sensibility.”
Sound Transit reported that overall, there is a community desire to demonstrate visual richness, either through colorful lighting, variety in the use of materials, or dynamic patterns that contribute to facade screening on all sides with visibility both day and night.
“Variability in height and depth, along with layering materials and spaces and emphasizing architectural elements, shall help dissolve the mass of the building and create a visually engaging and activated garage,” according to Sound Transit.
Sound Transit is working to procure a contractor to design and construct the garage.
“We expect to share final designs with the community in mid-2023 and to begin construction in late 2023,” according to the agency.
In addition to the garage, the project includes:
• A new bus layover facility (funding partnership with King County Metro)
• Reconfigured pick-up/drop-off area
• Pedestrian improvements at the intersection of East Smith Street and Railroad Avenue North
• Sidewalk improvements and a mid-block crossing on Railroad Avenue North just north of East Smith Street
Voters approved additional Sounder parking garages in Kent, Auburn and Sumner in 2008 as part of the Sound Transit 2 package. The Sound Transit Board suspended the projects in 2010 because of the Great Recession when sales tax revenue for the agency came up shorter than projected. The agency’s board restored funding for the garages in 2016.
The agency paused work on this project in 2020 due to financial uncertainties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and restarted in late 2021, and now hopes to hit the latest timeline.
Commuters now park at the Kent Station garage, 301 Railroad Ave. N., which opened in 2001, just north of West Smith Street. The garage and surface lot provide 996 parking spaces, but they fill up quickly (at least they did prior to COVID-19), which is why the agency decided it needed a second garage.
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