Exterior of the new Rowan Boulevard Parking Garage on Redmond Street in Glassboro, NJ. All photos by William Thomas Cain/Cain Images

Case Study:
ROWAN BOULEVARD
PARKING GARAGE

Design and installation of a fully integrated, multi-use parking garage as part of the $300 million Rowan Boulevard redevelopment project in Glassboro, NJ.

Note: Richard N. Best Associates earned the Pennsylvania Parking Association's 2014 Parking Design and Innovation Award for this project.]

The Borough of Glassboro is home to Rowan University, a large institution with 12,000 students, including 9,000 daily commuters. Residents in neighborhoods close to the university had long complained about Rowan student parking clogging neighborhood streets. According to local news reports, drivers would routinely violate two-hour limits, and residents lamented that the police force apparently lacked the manpower to consistently enforce parking regulations. Members of the Glassboro Borough Council envisioned a solution that would do more than solve the problem, embarking on an ambitious $300 million redevelopment project linking Rowan University with Glassboro’s downtown retail district to create the “quintessential college town,” promoting concentrated smart growth with mixed-use buildings.

Over time, the plan developed into a public/private partnership (PPP) as the municipality, the university and private developers worked to create a corridor running one-third of a mile, lined with retail shops and restaurants on the first floor with housing, offices and classrooms above, complete with an adjacent parking garage. When initial bids for the parking facility proved to be cost-prohibitive, the municipality contacted Nexus Properties, which adapted the proposal to trim millions of dollars from the overall expenditure and called on Richard N. Best Associates (RNB) to implement the plan. Now, the Rowan Boulevard project represents the largest municipal redevelopment project in the State of New Jersey, with the key anchors of Rowan student housing, a Barnes & Noble collegiate superstore, and a Courtyard by Marriott hotel and conference center.

THE SITUATION

Nexus Properties has a long-standing local presence in Glassboro, with major operations and a principal office in nearby Lawrenceville, NJ. When Glassboro investigated the estimated costs and initial results came back too high, officials approached Nexus CFO and COO Dante Germano to foster a solution. Michael Ciesielka, Chief Information Officer and President of Nexus Parking Systems, explains: “We redesigned the garage to make it work while saving the Borough of Glassboro several million dollars. We kept 1194 spaces – and went about figuring a way to pay for it.”

In the end, the budgetary issue was resolved as Nexus approached Rowan University, which agreed to lease 900 parking spaces for 30 years. A reservation agreement was inked with the Marriott for 100 cars, and the hotel pays up front for 40 of these spaces each month; use by hotel patrons of additional spaces is reconciled at the end of the month. Nexus Properties will initially own and operate both the classroom and garage facilities, leasing most parking and all classrooms to the university. Under the terms of the PPP development, ownership of the classrooms will eventually revert to Rowan, while Nexus Properties will continue to own and manage the parking garage.

A UNIQUE BLEND OF PATRONS

“The Rowan Boulevard project is unique for Nexus Properties,” says Ciesielka. “Nexus Parking usually deals with commuters who come and go on the same day.” From college ID cards to hotel room keys and retail customers, this project needed to integrate various payment systems and parking schedules. “There were a lot of moving parts” to be coordinated, Ciesielka explains:

• Students needed to be able to use their Rowan University ID cards at the gate. The university uses the Blackboard system for student IDs and as an electronic purse.
• Hotel guests at the Courtyard by Marriott needed to be able to use their room keys for entry, and the system needed to be able to account for parking schedules that span multiple days.
• Planners intended to offer retail customers two hours of free parking, after which a fee would be incurred.

Everything needed to operate smoothly and quickly, and the entire project needed to be completed by the time students returned to campus in the fall.

“We knew Best would bring the technologies on board so we could manage the parking as efficiently and easily as possible,” says Ciesielka, who had worked with RNB many times over the course of his 30-year career. At that point, RNB already had 20 years of experience outfitting parking garages for Nexus.

Ciesielka says, “Best gave me a complete solution” to integrate the Blackboard system, hotel key cards, prepaid tickets, retail shopper notifications and more, all routed through pay stations into a singular cohesive network.

THE BEST PLAN

Create a system to efficiently manage parking, integrate diverse technologies into one cohesive system, and do it on time so everything is in place when students return to campus for the fall semester.

Working quickly and closely with Nexus Parking Systems, Richard N. Best Associates carefully sourced a blend of technologies to create a streamlined system capable of handling the required diversity of tasks. Don Vennell, RNB Account Executive, explains that more and more, Richard N. Best Associates is completing projects that require “installing multiple, technologically diverse platforms in one location.” In addition, years of partnership with Nexus, he says, had forged “trust and confidence that we could install the system and get it operational on time. It had to be up and running when students the returned to campus – no excuses. And they knew we would come through.”

In order to handle the required diversity of card keys and data systems, RNB tapped 3M Parking for a Facility Management System with capabilities to offer all features requested by Nexus. The system simultaneously handles pre-paid vouchers, ValueCard, credit cards, and comprehensive access control for university students, staff and faculty. The powerful 3M software gathers an extraordinary amount of data from robust, scalable, and feature-rich lane equipment. Lane devices all communicate data to the host with continual updates to enable real-time monitoring. Scores of comprehensive reports provide audit and event analysis enabling the operational benefit of the system to be maximized at all times. In addition, two entry lanes and two exit lanes were augmented with a pay-on-foot machine near the office capable of accepting all payment forms, and RNB installed a credit-card-only kiosk at the far end of the garage.

Best called on 3M Parking for equipment and the Facility Management System.

To serve Rowan University students, RNB mounted an independent card reader from Blackboard on the 3M lane equipment to authorize credentials in coordination with the Rowan bursar and parking department. Rowan students use their Blackboard card as an electronic purse at the bookstore, cafeteria, and other places. Integrating the Blackboard network into the revenue control system was deemed key to project success.

Yet another integral component of the comprehensive system plan was to incorporate free two-hour parking for retail shoppers, while also sending text notifications to customers before instituting fees for additional time. To achieve this capability, RNB sourced ceiling-mounted space sensors from Q-Free TCS, formerly TCS International. The 137 parking spaces located near retail outlets on the ground floor were equipped with the space sensors and instantly communicate with a software application on the supervisory administrator’s computer in the garage office. A green light above a parking space denotes that it is open. Once occupied, the light turns red and the clock starts ticking. When the free two-hour limit expires, a yellow light begins to flash, and the system sends an email alert to parking facility customer service representatives. Customers who choose to receive a notification through the Parkmobile smartphone application can pay for additional time or return to the vehicle to either exit or pay onsite.

	A sign notifies drivers how many spaces are left in the section offering two hours of free parking.

“We try to educate people to get on the Parkmobile system,” Ciesielka says. “Maybe it’s somebody who’s late for class…we want people to park there yet we want to let them know we are enforcing the rules.” Customer service representatives urge patrons to pay for additional parking with the app, so the next time they come to park they will have the app installed and use it.

For hotel guests, a seamless interface with the Marriott system allows hotel guests to retain entry and exit privileges to the garage during their stay by simply using the key card to their room. Upon entry, a guest inserts their card in the lane device; their exit will cause the gate to open if it’s within their time-of-stay criteria, regardless of the duration of their stay. Furthermore, the operator can provide VIP guests with a ValueCard account that will permit entry and exit to the facility by presenting the card at the entry and exit devices. 

Ceiling-mounted sensors from Q-Free TCS turn red as a vehicle parks. In real time, the system monitors two hours of free parking, then sends notification when time has elapsed and fees will be charged. Customers are urged to use the Parkmobile app for alerts and payment options.

The garage was also outfitted with a modern, IP-based emergency call system furnished by Talk-A-Phone to enhance customer service, as well as personal security, a high priority on college campuses. Units are located in every elevator lobby area and are connected to the manager’s office to enable customers to call for assistance.

NEXUS AND GLASSBORO REALIZE THEIR GOALS

A variety of pay-on-foot stations serve the various customer types, from students and hotel guests using ID cards and room keys to retail shoppers paying by credit card.

RNB’s Don Vennell explains: “Through coordination with local government and university administration, Nexus was able to capitalize on their expertise as a developer, construction company, and professional parking operator, and assumed responsibility for the entire project. Student housing, a new parking garage, shops including Barnes & Noble, and a Marriott Courtyard hotel were all built as part of the project. Additional student housing and more parking is now in the works.”

Following the successful design and installation of the new system, significant outcomes include increased efficiency of the parking operation by providing multiple options for patrons through a cohesive assembly of top-of-the-line equipment. Critically, the new software enables real-time data collection and analysis, while simultaneously processing disparate transactions with a range of technologies to serve each essential customer category. And with over 40 years of local experience, Richard N. Best Associates is continuing to provide superior after-sale service and maintenance as part of the contract.

Now that the building is constructed and garage is fully operational, Glassboro’s downtown retail district is beginning to experience the new cohesiveness that local leaders had envisioned. Connecting the university to the downtown core is an essential step in the long-range planning goal of creating the “quintessential college town.”

Lane devices all communicate data to the host with continual updates to enable real-time monitoring. Scores of comprehensive reports provide audit and event analysis to maximize operational benefit of the system

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