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Discussed and planned for years, West Hollywood’s automated parking garage is almost ready to stack its first car.
City officials held a topping-off ceremony on Tuesday for the project, which sits behind City Hall at Santa Monica Boulevard and Sweetzer Avenue. Nicknamed the “Robo Garage,” the automated system allows drivers to pull into four bays, hop out of their vehicles, and let a mechanical system place them in neat, vertical piles. The Robo Garage more efficiently stores cars than a typical parking structure—the previous surface lot held 66 cars and the Robo can stack 200.
Of course, such a novel invention—one of the first utilized on the West Coast—costs a pretty penny. At nearly $18 million, the Robo Garage’s individual spots cost $90,000 each. City officials say the garage is needed because WeHo is already jam-packed and there’s no room, or desire, to knock down businesses or apartments and build a towering garage.
The Robo Garage should be nicer than the typical parking structure, with an art installation, drought-tolerant landscaping, solar panels, and even a large glass window that allows pedestrians to take view of the mechanized movement. All this parking excitement can be yours in 10 months, according to WeHoville.
