Scheduled to open on the first day of the spring semester, the building provides more than 1,600 parking spaces and delivers high-tech safety and convenience features.

Pictured left to right, above: Associated Student Government President and Student Trustee Chris Hopp; Palomar College Superintendent/President Dr. Joi Lin Blake; Palomar Community College District Governing Board President Paul McNamara; Trustee Emeritus Nancy Chadwick; Board Vice President John Halcón; and Board Secretary Mark Evilsizer.

SAN MARCOS, CA ― The first parking structure at Palomar College will open to students on the first day of the spring semester, following a grand opening ceremony and ribbon cutting on Wednesday, Jan. 24.

“If you go to colleges across the country, what’s the number one problem? Parking,” said Palomar College President Dr. Joi Lin Blake. “What we’ve done today is make Palomar College more accessible for our students, faculty and staff. For our first parking structure, it’s amazing. We’ve gone above and beyond.”

Guests tour the new parking structure at Palomar College following the grand opening ceremony on Jan. 24. Photos by Tom Pfingsten.

Designed to address the needs of current and future students, the five-story parking structure is over 499,000 square feet, with 1,616 parking spaces, including 28 accessible and six van spaces.

The building is also equipped with a number of high-tech features, including license plate readers, LED lights, and electronic signage at each entry identifying the number of spaces available on each floor.

The structure features a design with no interior walls to provide safety-enhancing sight lines; additional safety features include emergency phones and security cameras. There are three different entries/exits on three different floors to speed traffic in and out of the structure.  The design was built into the slope to reduce the building’s north-side visibility.

Chris Hopp, president of the Associated Student Government and the district’s Student Trustee, said that parking availability has always been a top priority for students, and thanked the college for building the structure.

“To students, this means not missing classes,” said Hopp. “This means not having to drive around the parking lot looking for that last spot. It means having the peace of mind that you’re going to get to class on time.”

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Media contacts:

Laura Gropen, Public Affairs, lgropen@palomar.edu, 760-744-1150 x2152

Tom Pfingsten, Public Affairs, tpfingsten@palomar.edu, 760-744-1150 x2960