STV to Design New MTA Jamaica Bus Depot

STV signed a contract with Skanska to serve as lead designer for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) design-build of a new Jamaica Bus Depot and parking lot in the New York City borough of Queens. Skanska will lead the design-build team.

STV will provide a full suite of design services including architectural, civil, structural, industrial, industrial plumbing, environmental, geotechnical, communications, charging infrastructure, and utilities for the new depot and lot, which will be the city’s first to be outfitted with the ability to service a fleet of entirely battery-electric buses (BEBs).

“The existing Jamaica Bus Depot is more than 80 years old and has limited capacity,” said Jeffrey Messinger, PE, project design manager at STV. “This upgrade will support the MTA’s planned bus fleet growth and its transition from diesel to battery electric buses.”

Once complete, the new facility will provide the capacity necessary to operate, maintain and store 272 buses. Initially, the depot will serve a combination of diesel and BEBs, but the MTA plans to transition to a full BEB fleet by 2030.

STV has a long history with the Jamaica Bus Depot. Between 2015 and 2021, the firm provided environmental documentation and air permit support for its proposed reconstruction and expansion, and prepared an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) which investigated alternatives on mitigation measures for air quality, parking and traffic, as well as noise and vibration. The project won a Platinum Award for Engineering Excellence from the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) New York in 2021.

STV’s direct relevant design-build experience includes its design of the city’s most recent bus depot, Mother Clara Hale, which opened in 2016. STV served as the architect- and engineer-of-record for this 390,000-square-foot New York City Transit project, which features low-emission boilers, solar air heating, heat-recovery air handling units, natural lighting, rainwater recycling, and a green roof. The project was awarded LEED Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council in 2015 and won a Diamond Award for Transportation Engineering Excellence from ACEC New York in 2016.