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The City of Morgan Hill Specific Plan envisioned a vibrant “walkable” downtown village with restaurant, entertainment, office and residential space as well as a new parking structure. Watry Design was selected to develop the bridging documents for the parking structure and develop the RFP for the design-build pursuit.

As the City of Morgan Hill faced a tight site and a limited budget, our team held collaborative workshops with the City and the public to establish the most important inclusions along with their wish list. The Watry Design team incorporated this feedback into the bridging documents and developed the RFP, which included two bidding alternatives to maximize the city’s value within their budget.

The team also issued addendums during the design-build bidding process and participated in the review of the documents, interview and selection of the Design Build team. We continued to review design documents on behalf of the City as the project went through Construction Documents and Construction Administration. The project was awarded on low cost per base bid point.

The resulting 275 stall parking structure delivered on all the City’s goals, including 4,000 square feet of retail, a public plaza and a reinforced roof designed to host events. Public art is featured throughout the structure, most notably The Tarantula, a 12-foot artistic spider in homage to Tarantula Fest, a beloved annual festival created by renowned artist Gordon Huether.

According to Mayor Steve Tate, the new parking structure “is significant to the new redevelopment of downtown that has already begun and the upcoming $50 million of new private investment that will bring exciting restaurants, retail shops, entertainment, housing and a boutique hotel.”

The project received the 2017 APWA Silicon Valley Chapter Project of the Year Award, 2017 Community Impact Structures Award and 2017 AVBJ Structures Award for Community Impact

Project Details

  • Owner: VTA and the City of Morgan Hill
  • Design Architect: Urban Field Studio
  • Contractor: F&H Construction
  • Design Build Team: F&H Construction, Urban Field Studio, Harris & Associates
  • Project Status: Completed June 2016
  • Parking Stalls: 275
  • Levels: 3
  • Total Project Cost: $13,300,000