Looking for parking facility construction projects? Probably not! That's because most construction firms are interested in larger projects. But, things are changing, and it may be wise to begin looking for parking garage projects.

Here's why. There is an abundance of demand for new parking facilities, and these projects are almost always tied to much larger construction opportunities. Find a parking garage opportunity and it's likely to be connected to other kinds of construction opportunities.

Still dubious? Check out these examples!

Kansas
The Manhattan City Commission is ready to proceed on the design of a new $12.5 million parking garage which is included in the Aggieville Community Vision plan. The garage will be central to 10,700 square feet of ground-level commercial space. Construction of the five-story garage with 489 parking spaces will launch a redevelopment project that includes upgrades and expansions as well as projects related to streets, lighting, streetscapes, and more.

Nebraska - The Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT), along with the Omaha-Council Bluffs Metropolitan Area Planning Agency (MAPA), has identified major transportation projects through the Metro Area Travel Improvement Study (MTIS).

The plan outlines short-, mid-, and long-term priorities for the Omaha region's interstate and major roadway networks. NDOT will use the study to refine its plans over time.

For the 20-year period between 2025 and 2045, an estimated $860 million in funding will be needed for expansion and preservation projects.

Early freeway expansion projects expected to begin before 2030 involve the interchange at Interstate 80 and N-370, which will reconfigure the interchange to a diverging diamond; the Interstate 480 corridor between I-80 and Harney Street, which will add one mainline lane in each direction; and US-75 northbound from Chandler Road to F Street, which will add one mainline lane.

 
Major mainline expansions are planned for I-80, including the addition of a westbound auxiliary lane from Q Street to Giles Road, and the addition of one westbound lane from the I-80/I-480/US-75 interchange to 42nd Street. Other mainline expansions will be performed to I-680, as well as West Dodge Road.

New York - Mayor Bill de Blasio recently announced the city will invest more than $800 million on new water mains and infrastructure improvements over the next two years. The city is adding approximately $128 million in capital funding to ensure the replacement of approximately 1 percent of the system's water mains annually.

The city's 6,800 miles of water mains serve more than 8.5 million people about 1 billion gallons of water daily. Its water main system averages 6.6 breaks for every 100 miles of water main compared to 25 breaks for other large U.S. cities.

New York City's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) prioritizes new water main construction based on the age, size, material and historical performance of the current main, as well as neighborhood demand for water and proximity of other capital projects. DEP will work to develop a predictive model to forecast the likelihood of future water main breaks.

Illinois - Gov. JB Pritzker recently announced $500 million in capital funding for the University of Illinois' research and innovation hubs. The investment is part of Pritzker's vision for state-of-the-art technology, robust higher education, and private partnerships that will spur economic development.

The money will go to the university system's Illinois Innovation Network (IIN) and the Discovery Partners Institute (DPI). These hubs will help students and workers prepare for jobs in the technology industry.

The governor's funding commitment will allow IIN and DPI to attract more funding from private sources, as well as to begin architectural design work for facilities across the state.

In addition, the university has pledged to secure $500 million in private funding, of which $230 million has been raised so far. Another $224 million has been raised by the system's universities in other parts of Illinois.

A new headquarters for IIN and DPI is planned to be housed on a 62-acre mixed-use development site in downtown Chicago.
Over the next 10 years, the investment will have an estimated economic impact of $19 billion and bring 48,000 jobs.

Delaware - After nearly five years of planning, the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) is ready to launch the Henlopen Transportation Improvement District, which includes $284 million in road improvement projects.

In total, the district covers an area of 24 square miles, which includes 43 roadway segments and 62 intersections.

The transportation improvement projects cover routes for cars, buses, bicycles, and pedestrians. These include plans for 15 more intersections with turn lanes, 13 new roundabouts, 12 new traffic signals, 7 miles of road widening, and 4 miles of new roads. All roads would be widened to 11-foot lanes with shoulders and accommodate shared-use paths such as sidewalks.

After the plan's details are finalized, Sussex County Council will vote on the proposal. All projects would be subject to DelDOT's approval process, and land-use applications would go through the county's public hearing process for comment and feedback.

Developers would not need to complete a traffic impact study, as DelDOT has already acquired appropriate data.
Residential developers would pay a fee per single-family unit, ranging from $4,200 to $6,350. Commercial developers would pay a fee per square foot, ranging from $1.77 to $3.10. Sussex County Council will be responsible for setting these fees.

Washington, D.C. - The U.S. Department of Transportation's (USDOT) Maritime Administration (MARAD) announced it is awarding more than $280 million in discretionary grant funding for port facilities improvements at or near coastal seaports. The grant funding is made possible through the Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP).

In total, 15 projects have been awarded grant funding, six of which are located in opportunity zones. These opportunity zones were created to revitalize distressed communities.

Notable recipients include Miami-Dade County in Florida, which received nearly $44 million for its PortMiami Cargo Yard Resiliency Improvements and Fumigation and Cold Chain Processing Center Project; Savannah, Georgia, which received more than $34 million for its Container Berth 1 Realignment Project; and Anchorage, Alaska, which received $20 million for its Port of Alaska Modernization Program Project.

One of the PIDP's main goals is to aid in the improvement of port facilities and freight infrastructure, by providing capital funding and project management assistance to ports and industry stakeholders.

Washington, D.C. - House lawmakers voted to pass a bill to start construction of a new museum that will become part of the Smithsonian Institution. The 350,000-square-foot museum, which is estimated to cost $375 million, will be dedicated to honoring the history of American women.

To pay for the museum, half of all funding is expected to come from the government and the other half from private donors.

The bill, which is expected to pass after going through the Senate and being signed by the President, does not set a definite timeline for the project. The new museum is expected to feature its own curated programming, but it also will likely incorporate pieces from existing exhibits.

California - The California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) is contributing $76 million to a $156.4 million project to improve the crossing at Rosecrans and Marquardt avenues, one of California's most dangerous intersections.

The proposed project will grade separate the intersection. A request for proposals (RFP) for construction work is expected to be released by this summer.

Every day, the intersection accommodates 45,000 vehicles and more than 112 freight and passenger trains. Grade separating the intersection will improve traffic flow and safety for vehicles and trains.

This year, new utilities will be installed to accommodate the work, including power poles, and overhead and underground electrical lines.

Several organizations are collaborating on the project, including the cities of Santa Fe Springs and La Mirada, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), and Metrolink and CHSRA.

Officials hope to begin construction in early 2021 and complete the grade separation project by 2023.

Alabama - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is allocating $274.3 million for the Port of Mobile project in its Fiscal Year 2020 work plan. The money will fund construction work to deepen and widen the navigation channel, which is expected to begin at the end of this year.

As part of the project, the Port of Mobile's Bar, Bay, and River channels will be deepened to 56, 54, and 54 feet, respectively. Additionally, the Bay Channel will be widened by 100 feet over a stretch of three nautical miles.

In December 2019, a new law was signed that included a regional dredge demonstration program for the central Gulf Coast, which will be administered by the USACE. The program aims to explore innovative dredging methods that will seek efficiencies and cost savings while minimizing disruptions to critical dredging construction and maintenance.

Florida - Clearwater councilmembers adopted a resolution earlier this month to encourage the development of a commercial aerial transit system in their city.

The system's solar energy-powered pods would carry up to four passengers at up to 50 mph about 20 feet off the ground.

Elevated tracks with stops in Clearwater's downtown, Island Estates, Pier 60, and Clearwater Beach would be included in the project's initial phase. The system could be expanded to serve the Tampa Bay area as support for the system gains traction in the area. The city of Oldsmar and Pasco County Metropolitan Planning Organization approved similar resolutions.

Officials in 2018 estimated an aerial transit system in Clearwater would cost about $50 million, operate about 75 pods, and require construction of a hangar for maintenance and pod storage.

Kansas - Gov. Laura Kelly announced her administration's new transportation plan, called FORWARD, which will improve the state's highways and change how transportation projects are funded.

The plan calls for major projects to be selected every two years, and for delayed T-Works projects to be completed. Officials said six T-Works projects will be let in 2020. One of those projects benefiting from the new approach is a $23.04 million expansion of US-69 that will widen the road to four lanes in Crawford County. Construction is scheduled to begin in September 2020.

New initiatives such as cost-sharing, local bridge improvements, and strategic safety programs also will allow for better service through the ability to use all of the Kansas Department of Transportation's (KDOT) resources.

In recent years, transfers out of the state highway fund have exceeded $2 billion, which ultimately led to further deterioration of Kansas' highway system. Gov. Kelly's plan is designed to stop these types of transfers and ensure that transportation funding remains intact.

Nebraska - Officials at the state's Department of Corrections announced on February 18 that they are preparing a request for information (RFI) for a public-private partnership (P3) to construct a new prison.

An RFI is expected to be issued within 30 days. A 90-day review period will follow.
State officials anticipate awarding a contract in 2021 and operations starting at the new prison in mid-2023. The 1,600-bed facility would be between Lincoln and Omaha with the possibility of an 800-bed expansion.

Department officials said a private company would build the prison under the partnership and the state would operate it, paying for construction over a lease term. Legislative approval is necessary to obtain funding for the lease and prison staff.

New York - An anonymous donor gifted $60 million to Binghamton University to fund a new baseball complex. 

The addition of the baseball stadium will likely elevate the university's national profile, because the stadium will have the capacity to host National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) postseason championships.

In total, the complex will be 84,000 square feet. Officials also say that it will be constructed on an aggressively fast timeline with two phases.

Phase one will include construction of the baseball team's clubhouse, entertainment space, press boxes, and seating, and is expected to be completed in spring 2021.

The second phase does not have a start date, but that segment will include construction of the team's new indoor practice facility.

Pennsylvania - Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto proposed his idea to promote all modes of transportation in the city, including investing in gondolas, marinas, and autonomous vehicles, to spur future economic growth.

With his plans, the mayor hopes to transform the city's Parking Authority into a "mobility authority." Though the authority wouldn't fund the proposed investments, it would encourage public-private partnerships (P3s) to develop and pay for such transportation methods as gondolas.

His proposed gondola system would connect the Strip and Hill districts, as well as Oakland.

Additionally, the mayor said he would be interested in building a new incline, if a third party showed interest.

Washington, D.C. - As cybercrimes continue to plague school districts and cities around the country in 2020, a recent report by the FBI shows that California, Florida, and Texas were the hardest hit states in 2019.

The FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) recently released its 2019 Internet Crime Report that found California received the highest number of complaints with 50,132 reports in 2019. Texas tied with Florida for the second most victims per state last year with 27,178, when complainants provided state information.

California also was No. 1 in total losses by victims with $573.62 million reported in 2019. Florida was second with its victims suffering $293.45 million in losses. Ohio came in third with $264.66 million. Texas was fourth with $221.54 million in reported losses in 2019.

For count by subject per state, California ranked first with 17,517 counts of cybercrime in 2019. Florida ranked second with 11,047 counts, and Texas was third with 10,093 counts of cybercrime in 2019.