The multi-function Yankee Stadium Garage Park is no ordinary parking structure. Built on top of the garage and surrounded by landscaping, is a 7-acre facility with a premier running track, a 600-person grandstand, a soccer and football field, eight handball courts, four basketball courts, fitness equipment, drinking fountains, cooling misters for the athletes, picnic tables, grass berms, and a comfort station. The parking structure supports unusually high rooftop loads to accommodate soil, full-size trees and extensive plantings, earthen mounds, bleachers, and fire truck/ambulance access designed for concentrated loads of 24,000 lbs.
The first time to bat isn’t necessarily a home run, this project was visualized as a steel framed structure, but according to Michael L. Nelson, AIA from Clark Caton Hintz, the project architect, “the design-build team’s value engineering process showed that a superior, cost-effective building could be achieved with precast concrete.”
Unistress delivered 1,352 precast pieces to build the 3 level parking garage, creating an amazing 7 acres of rooftop that was turned into the Macombs Dam Park. The park provides a truly magnificent urban recreation area that encourages all manner of activity, including: a regulation size football/soccer field, a competition quality track, four baseball courts, eight handball courts and a 600 seat bleacher.
The rooftop park and recreation facility was challenging as it had to accommodate loads of 36 to 42 inches of soil for trees, drainage and a special membrane to protect the concrete and parking garage from moisture.
Challenge
Extremely complex logistics included a site wedged between subway lines, Interstate 95, the Macomb’s Dam Bridge, and local street traffic. In spite of these challenges, construction continued during the baseball season and even during the World Series.
Solution
The inherent strength of precast concrete enabled the rooftop park to become a reality. Precast concrete has a distinguished score card of superior quality that includes: quick and economical construction, superior durability, long life, and reduced maintenance costs.
The first time to bat isn’t necessarily a home run, this project was visualized as a steel framed structure, but the design-build team’s value engineering process showed that a superior, cost-effective building could be achieved with precast concrete.
