After much speculation, residents of Atlanta's Summerhill neighborhood south of downtown recently learned what is being built next to Georgia State University's new Convocation Center.
Visible from the nearby interchange of Interstates 85 and 20, as well as other points south, the huge new standalone parking garage is quickly stacking up over Fulton Street, claiming a vacant lot immediately west of the Convocation Center.
Project leaders confirmed to Urbanize Atlanta that the parking structure will ultimately stand six stories and have space enough for almost 900 vehicles.
GSU officials said in August the new structure will be used for parking but provided no other details.
Construction began at the site earlier this summer.
The Beck Group, a Texas-based firm with a regional office in Atlanta, is serving as design-builder for the parking deck project. A company spokesperson told Urbanize Atlanta that the standalone deck is scheduled to be completed next May, offering 896 parking spaces on Summerhill's northern fringe.
The parking deck is a facet of the arena not included in original project renderings, which caught some passersby by surprise as to what the rising project actually is.
Georgia State University's $85 million Convocation Center broke ground on six vacant acres in late 2020 and began hosting events in 2022, with capacity for 7,300 spectators for men's and women's basketball games, and up to 8,000 for concerts.
Currently, parking for the facility is available in GSU's Blue surface lot, located across Fulton Street to the south.
Beyond the university's basketball games, the 200,000-sq.-ft. facility is designed to host graduations, concerts, and other events, such as esports, or electronic sports, tourneys.
The Summerhill facility was hailed by GSU as an upgrade from its former sports arena downtown, which opened in 1972 with a maximum capacity of 3,500 seats.
