Auburn’s second Sound Transit parking garage has been decades in the planning stages.

But the agency now says it expects to share final designs with the community by mid-year and to start building in late 2023 at 1st Street Northwest.

According to Sound Transit’s website, the garage should be finished by 2027.

“The City of Auburn continues to actively work with Sound Transit on the project and have made progress, and we are eager to have a second parking garage to service our transit riders,” said Dana Hinman, administrative director for the city of Auburn. “Our understanding is that Sound Transit will have their design-build contractor chosen soon, and this is one more positive step toward getting under construction.”

The aim also is to improve access to the Auburn Sounder Station for riders, whether they get there on foot, by bicycle, by connecting buses or driving, so that more people can conveniently access the Sounder train and regional bus service.

In May 2022, the agency conducted community outreach to learn what potential users wanted the new garage to look like, and provide a project update. It hosted an online open house from May 4 to May 25, 2022, where visitors could read about the project and take a survey about the garage’s visual design. The online open house drew more than 600 visitors, with 72 people completing the online survey.

Sound Transit likewise hosted a tabling event at the station on May 10, 2022, and a virtual information session on May 16. Overall, more than 95 people participated, either online or in-person, resulting in 87 written comments. The agency will use this feedback to inform the visual design of the new garage. It has drafted a vision statement based on public and stakeholder feedback, which will be included in the project requirements for the design-build contractor.

The best information can be found on the ST Project page at www.soundtransit.org/system-expansion/auburn-station-parking-access-improvements.