Parking garage approved for Lone Star College Fairbanks Center satellite campus

LONE STAR COLLEGE—Construction of a 276-space parking garage is expected to alleviate parking challenges at Lone Star College's Fairbanks Center at Hwy. 290 and W. Little York Road. Construction is scheduled to begin in April and be completed in June.

The LSCS board of trustees, following the recommendation of Chancellor Richard Carpenter, authorized the negotiation of a "guaranteed maximum price" contract with Pepper Lawson Construction for $3,666,281 at its Feb. 6 meeting. Schematic designs for the garage were finalized at a Nov. 7 workshop.

Parking issues became significantly worse as a result of construction on Hwy. 290, making the project a priority, said Deana Sheppard, vice president of college centers with LSC–CyFair.

Funding for the garage was included as a part of the $497.7 million bond election that failed in 2013.

Following the bond's defeat, the board of trustees voted in August to move forward with about $60 million in improvements across LSCS for projects that were deemed critical.

"This is the kind of project that has been on our radar for a while," said Ray Laughter, LSCS vice chancellor for external relations.

Money for the project comes from reserves and from a revenue budgeting process in 2013 that makes use of facilities money to pay for certain improvements.