Robotic parking garage revenue to fund new downtown BK park

Revenue from a robotic 700-car underground parking garage is planned to fund the opening of one-acre Willoughby Square Park in 2016.

“It’s basically a vending machine for cars,” the garage company CEO told the Daily News.

The parking garage will pay for the park above it, seen here in renderings from the New York City Economic Development Corporation. Automotion Parking Systems will be the vendor in charge of the parking garage. It will be a robotic system, capable of storing 61 cars in a 36′ x 100′ square foot space. Or, according to Treehugger, three times more than a traditional garage.

The one-acre Willoughby Square Park will be located on Willoughby Street between Duffield Street and Gold Street. It’s part of the Downtown Brooklyn Redevelopment Plan. The park replaces the last rent stabilized building downtown, and the tenants won’t be relocated in Brooklyn.

This video shows how the robotic system works, with no one but the driver touching the car. The system lowers emissions, because the car only runs when the driver pulls it in and pulls it out of the main bay, rather than idling and slow driving like in traditional garages.

[Treehugger]