With parking on campus at a premium, the South Campus Gateway will offer an extra convenience for people who come to the new development at Ohio State: a parking garage.

“The garage will serve the people who live in the apartments, the employees who work in the office space and the customers of the retail stores,” said Stephen Sterrett, spokesman for Campus Partners.

Students began moving into the apartments Monday, Sterrett said, and the parking garage is set to open in time for the residents.

The garage will provide 1,200 parking spaces in the heart of the Gateway, he said.

“We think there is ample parking space there, but if we find that people are coming to park and go to class, we may have to institute a validation system,” Sterrett said.

Sterrett said they are not establishing a validation system in the beginning because it is an inconvenience for the people who will have to use it.

Only 38 percent of OSU students live near campus in the university’s area code, he said.

“More than 70 percent of OSU students have cars and a majority of them live out of the campus area,” Sterrett said. “The garage will draw more students that live away from campus back to the area for evening and weekend activities.”

Easy access to parking is the key to businesses anywhere, not just in the campus area, said Kathleen Legerski, a senior in finance.

“The only time I go to stores on High Street in the campus area is when I am already parked close by,” she said. “It is so hard to find places to park around campus that I will not just go to a store or restaurant unless I have to.”

“The parking garage is critical for the success of the Gateway,” Sterrett said. “It provides access to low-cost, convenient parking.”

Lisa Karst, owner of Lave, a store in the Gateway that sells handmade bath products, said the parking garage will prevent visitors from having to drive around campus to find a place to park.

“The garage will help out tremendously because if there is adequate parking available, people will be more willing to visit,” she said.

Sterrett said the garage will accept many forms of payment, including BuckID.

Although parking must be available for a variety of establishments, such as restaurants, stores, the movie theater and offices, it is not a significant problem because these activities take place at different times, Sterrett said.

“The office workers will be there during the day, while the movie-goers will be there at night,” he said.

Sterrett said the parking garage will be monitored 24 hours a day, seven days a week, by security officers. There will also be 24-hour observation of the surveillance cameras in the security office, which is located on the first floor of the garage, Sterrett said. Of the 60 cameras located throughout the Gateway, he said half will be in the parking garage.

Like any location peoploe visit for the first time, there may initially be slight confusion on where to park in the Gateway, Sterrett said.

“The challenge will be primarily the first time people visit the area,” he said.

He said there will be highly-visible signs along High Street directing people to the garage for parking. They will be the typical blue sign with a large white “P,” signifying parking, he said.

Campus Partners plans to get involved with other area events, Sterrett said.

“We are planning to tie into the monthly gallery hops and run a shuttle to the Short North,” he said.

Sterrett said this will help the Short North with parking issues and allow people the chance to experience the Gateway project.

The garage provides parking for diverse activities, which makes it a complex system, Sterrett said.