OPA was commissioned by Community Action Commission to design a parking lot adjacent to a group of renovated commercial building is the economically challenged neighborhoods of South Allison Hill. The purpose of the lot was to provide much needed designated parking for the existing bank and businesses in the commercial buildings and attract new tenants.

The City was supportive of the parking lot if it was designed to be “more than sparking lot”.  OPA developed a scheme which functioned as parking, a farmers market/night market and a plaza for public festivals. The design interprets the City’s requirement for screening of parking lots to provide eight stepped surfaces for general seating and more specifically display items for sale at a green market.

Up-lighting beneath the sales table washes the ground plan and highlights the tables, lighting from above illuminates items on offer am provide general illumination for the front of the parking lot. The rear of the lot contains a bioswale which promote direct infiltration of rainwater, avoiding additional capacity on the City’s storm water system. New trees provide a surface for up-lighting at the rear of the lot and aid in water treatment and infiltration. The row of parking by the bioswale is design as eight charging stations for electric cars and provides power for a stage location for periodic festivals.    Masts provide a highly visible place to mount attractive signage and stage lighting for festivals. The paving relates to a plaza built a decade ago one block away and suggests the creating on a consistent aesthetic for the neighborhoods system of public spaces.