Park Place Parking Structure Wins International Architectural Award

Missoula’s Park Place parking structure is one of seven winners in the International Parking Institute 2014 Awards of Excellence.

Missoula Parking Commission Director Anne Guest described the award won by the Missoula structure.

"I just got back from Dallas, Texas, where they hosted the International Parking Institute's Awards of Excellence," Guest said. "There were seven categories awarded, and our Park Place parking structure won the highest award in the area of architectural achievement."

Guest says the structure has been very successful so far, in that a good portion of the spots have been leased during the weekdays by local businesses and offices, and that Saturdays are especially busy.

"On the weekends, now that the Clark Fork River Market is open, it is totally full on Saturday mornings," Guest said. "It's full all the way to the top floor. So, it is being really well utilized."

Guest said most of the awards went to parking structures in major cities, but Missoula was an exception.

"It was really a thrill for me to go and represent the Missoula Parking Commission," Guest said. "The other award winners were from Toronto, Los Angeles, Boston and other big cities, and here we were, Missoula Montana winning a major award."

Guest says the five-story building contains many green features, including state-of–the–art lighting systems, a high-efficiency elevator, infrastructure for electric car charging stations and one of the largest installations of solar panels in Montana.