Wynn Hospital parking garage opens Saturday

Oneida County’s parking garage in downtown Utica will open to the public on Saturday.

The garage, located between Oriskany Street and Wynn Hospital, opened for hospital employees on Monday.

The county had originally planned to open the garage when the hospital opened in late October. But that didn’t work out , county Executive Anthony Picente Jr. said.

“The project itself, I don’t know, it was cursed from the beginning,” he said, “in terms of dates, in terms of redesigns, etc.”

Then it was supposed to open in March.

“And then that went by the wayside because of some supply issues and some other construction delays or problems,” Picente said.

The garage is still not quite finished. The helipad on its roof won’t be ready for use for the “next couple months,” Picente said. In the meaning, helicopters must land at the Mohawk Valley Health System’s St. Luke’s Campus with patients transported by ambulance to Wynn.

Here’s what else you need to know about the garage.

How many parking spaces does it have?

About 1,330 with 996 reserved for Mohawk Valley Health System employees and 334 for the public, including hospital visitors. Employee spaces can only be accessed with a card.

How much will parking cost?

It will be free for hospital employees, medical staff and volunteers as well as for patients and visitors who get their parking tickets validated. The public may park there for free for two hours, Picente said.

But the county is still working out details of how much it will cost after two hours, he said.

And it’s also looking into allowing free or flat-rate parking, possibly including some MVHS employee spots during less crowded hours, for big events (such as a Comets game or the Boilermaker Road Race) to prevent traffic jams from everyone having to stop and pay, he said.

What do I need to know to park there?

The county will put out information later this week on charges for parking more than two hours, on how the public can enter and exit the garage and on the re-opening of Cornelia Street from Oriskany Street to the hospital.

Does the garage include emergency room parking?

Yes. A separate parking garage entrance near the emergency room will allow ER visitors to park with easy access to the ER entrance.

There are 70 spaces in the ER area.

Will valet parking still be available at the hospital?

Yes. MVHS officials have said that free valet parking will still be available at the hospital’s front door.

But valet parking at the emergency room will end once the garage is open.

Why will there be a charge for non-hospital visitors after two hours?

“We thought long and hard about this,” Picente said. “My concern is ... those spots are for visitors of the hospital and other visitors. But we don’t want people parking there all day because it’s free and going elsewhere or working elsewhere. So there needs to be some fail safes.”

What is the total cost of the garage?

The final cost will come to just over $52 million, Picente said.

Here’s the breakdown on where the money is coming from:

• A $10 million New York State Upstate Revitalization grant.

• $12 million of the county’s American Rescue Plan Act funds (applied to the project when an extra floor was added).

• A 30-year, $31 million bond by the county. Estimates put annual payments at about $1.8 million to be split 75%-25% between the hospital and the county, based on the number of designated hospital spaces and public spaces.

What are some design features in the new garage?

Picente highlighted a few:

• Accessibility for the public, who will only park on the lower levels and won’t have to negotiate the ramps.

• The public and health system employees have separate entrances. Spots for the public are clearly identified.

• There are about 70 electric charging stations spread throughout the different sections of the garage with the capacity to increase that number to 200 or 250.

• A covered, heated walkway leads from the garage to the hospital.

• The garage has five elevators, but one will be reserved exclusively for the helipad.

How has the garage design changed over time?

• It was originally supposed to have 1,500 or 1,600 spots. But a traffic study determined that it would only need a little over 1,000 parking spaces with the city leasing parking in the Kennedy garage to the hospital.

• But the city then tried to sell the Kennedy garage to Bowers Development (a sale that fell through).  So the county added another level to the garage plans, Picente said. (MVHS later bought the Kennedy garage.)

• The helipad was originally planned to go on the ground outside the emergency room, but the City of Utica rejected that plan so the garage was redesigned with a helipad on top.

Who will take care of the garage?

The county owns the garage and its employees will provide maintenance, Picente said. MVHS will handle snow removal, landscaping and exterior issues, and security, he said.

Oneida County will collect any payments from visitors using the garage.

Where can hospital staff, volunteers and medical providers park?

They have their own entrance into the garage off State Street across from the hospital’s Parking Lot A.

What parking is on each floor of the garage?

The first floor contains a separate area for ER parking and parking for visitors, patients and the general public, according to MVHS. The second floor is for medical staff parking and, separately, the public. The third, fourth and fifth floors are reserved for hospital employees and health system employees who frequently come to the hospital.

Pickup trucks may not park on the fifth floor, which is the roof, for the safety of medical helicopters arriving on the helipad.

Is there handicap accessible parking?

Yes, on each floor adjacent to the elevators that let out by the walkway to the hospital.

What is the Kennedy parking garage being used for?

MVHS employees who work in the Central Utility Plant and both MVHS and CNY Cardiology employees who work in the medical office building at 601 State Street park in the garage.

Is other hospital parking available?

Hospital visitors may park in Parking Lot B. Hospital employees and people who work in the medical office building may park in Parking Lot A.

The medical office building parking lot is for patients of CNY Cardiology and of the MVHS services located in the building, including a lab, imaging, the pharmacy and specialist offices, and for CNY Cardiology physicians.

What was the impact of eminent domain proceedings?

The county had to acquire two properties for the garage through eminent domain , a house owned by Brett Truett and a business owned by Joe Cerini. These were the last buildings to be demolished and did have some impact on the timetable, Picente said.

They also drove up costs for the project since the county had to pay more for the properties than their appraised values, he said. The county has not actually closed on cost for Truett’s property, he said.

Wasn’t the city supposed to be involved in the parking garage?

The city and the county has originally discussed building the parking garage together with a 60-40 split of the costs, with the county paying the larger share. But the city backed out of the agreement over fear of its impact on the city’s budget.

Picente still thinks the project would have been better with the city’s involvement. The costs would not have been as high as the city feared and together they might have been able to do more with the garage, he said.

But as it is, the garage is clearly an asset, Picente said, not just for the hospital but for the whole downtown.

This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Wynn Hospital parking garage opens Saturday