Type: Municipal
Project Name: Pomfret Street Parking Garage
City: Carlise
State: PA
Client: Borough of Carlisle

Features: 240-space parking structure located in a historic district.

Description: Sited within the Borough’s historic district, the garage serves guests of an adjacent hotel property, employees of nearby County government office buildings, and visitors to the downtown area. The building exterior echoes the late-nineteenth century masonry and metal roofing architecture found in the Borough’s historic district. Local acceptance was gained through two public presentations before the Borough Planning Commission and the Historic District Commission. Desman Associates served as architect and engineer of record for this facility. Previously, Desman performed a parking feasibility study for the overall historic district, focusing on the impact of the development of the new hotel. The tight site dictated a continuous ramping, “dish”-type parking functional layout, which allows convenient vehicular access and pedestrian orientation. The cast-in-place post tensioned concrete garage provides open, unobstructed sight lines and improved lighting characteristics while providing a durable, low maintenance facility. The structural system and parking layout were designed to allow for future horizontal expansion to the west. The open layout and use of glass enclosures provides security for garage patrons. Wayfinding graphics and signage were designed and detailed to reduce patron confusion regarding space allocation and direction. Working with the Borough, Desman designed public gathering space between the hotel’s rear entrance and the garage which is frequented by passersby, and employees of nearby businesses and government agencies. The Borough has initiated an historic narrative of Carlisle using descriptive plaques in this area with the support of several local businesses.