Tustin Metrolink Station Parking Structure Breaks Ground

Anaheim Hills, Calif.-based Bomel Construction Co., builders of hundreds of parking structures throughout the West, has begun working on a six-level garage at a mass transit center in Tustin, Calif.  And this one will be powered by solar energy.

In addition to erecting the nearly 250,000-square-foot parking structure for passengers using Metrolink trains or OCTA buses, Bomel will provide concrete contracting services for new bus stops, bus lanes and islands at the transit center. Bomel will also construct a walkway that pedestrians will use to get to and from their cars in a temporary parking lot while the garage is being built. The $12.3-million parking structure is scheduled to be completed in August.

The new garage will have 732 stalls, more than doubling the number of spaces in the existing open-air parking lot.
 The most challenging aspect of this project will be to ensure that the thousands of passengers that use this station on a daily basis will be protected from construction in progress as they travel to and from their destination with ease and efficiency, said Brad Burgner, Bomels project executive.

The most interesting and efficient aspect about construction of the poured-in-place concrete garage will be its solar energy system. Rosendin Electric of La Palma will install a photovoltaic canopy that will provide shade and nearly 85kW of AC power. The solar energy system will have an annual output rating of approximately 166,000 kWh, which would offset the parking structures lighting demands and other basic electrical needs.

In addition to Bomel and Rosendin, project stakeholders include the city of Tustin, the parking structure owner, and the Newport Beach, Calif. office of Watry Design of Redwood City, Calif., which serves as architect and structural engineer.

About Bomel Construction Co. Inc.

Based in Anaheim Hills, Bomel Construction is a 40-year-old design-build contractor that has completed parking structures and performed structural concrete work for municipalities, casinos, stadiums and large-scale commercial, retail and institutional projects throughout the western United States. In addition to its Anaheim Hills corporate base, Bomel has regional offices in Carlsbad and Las Vegas. Bomel, one of the largest concrete contractors in the Unite States, this year was ranked as the largest concrete contractor in California by McGraw-Hill Construction.