Norwalk Hospital to build garage with more spaces
Norwalk Hospital is scheduled to begin construction this month to replace a 35-year-old parking garage with a structure that will have nearly 200 new spaces for patients and visitors.
The $22 million garage will have full decks on each level compared with the half-deck structure of the current facility, allowing an increase from 430 spaces to 628 spaces on the same footprint, Norwalk Hospital director of facilities Jim Haynes said.
The project will also improve pedestrian safety into and out of the garage, with the new elevator emptying into the lobby of the hospital instead of across from the front entrance, which is heavily used by cars entering the garage, Haynes said.
"You won't need to walk where the cars drive into the garage," Haynes said. "They will come up into the main lobby and won't have to walk in the driving lanes."
The replacement of the old garage, which was built in 1974, will provide elevator access on each level and improve access to a proposed Ambulatory Pavilion to house the hospital's outpatient treatment facilities, according to Jeryl Topalian, executive director of planning and business services.
The hospital has applied for a required Certificate of Need from the state health department to build the pavilion, Topalian said.
"There has been an increase in volume as we've added more services over the course of the years and we anticipate needing to be able to accommodate that on our site," Topalian said.
During the 14-month construction period, patients and visitors to the hospital will be directed by signs to the Maple Street walk-up entrance where valet and self-parking entrances to a surface lot will be available, Haynes said.
Physicians and other hospital employees have been relocated to a nearby parking lot and will be brought to the hospital by shuttle bus, Haynes said.
The project will also improve pedestrian safety into and out of the garage, with the new elevator emptying into the lobby of the hospital instead of across from the front entrance, which is heavily used by cars entering the garage, Haynes said.
"You won't need to walk where the cars drive into the garage," Haynes said. "They will come up into the main lobby and won't have to walk in the driving lanes."
The replacement of the old garage, which was built in 1974, will provide elevator access on each level and improve access to a proposed Ambulatory Pavilion to house the hospital's outpatient treatment facilities, according to Jeryl Topalian, executive director of planning and business services.
The hospital has applied for a required Certificate of Need from the state health department to build the pavilion, Topalian said.
"There has been an increase in volume as we've added more services over the course of the years and we anticipate needing to be able to accommodate that on our site," Topalian said.
During the 14-month construction period, patients and visitors to the hospital will be directed by signs to the Maple Street walk-up entrance where valet and self-parking entrances to a surface lot will be available, Haynes said.
Physicians and other hospital employees have been relocated to a nearby parking lot and will be brought to the hospital by shuttle bus, Haynes said.
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