Community groups object to proposed Escambrón parking garage

Community organizations presented formal testimony to the San Juan City Assembly opposing a proposed 90‑year concession for a multi-story parking garage on public coastal land at the Third Millennium Park, arguing that the project would permanently alter one of San Juan’s most important recreational and environmental assets. (www.discoverpuertorico.com)

By THE STAR STAFF

Community organizations Escambrón Unido and Sierra Club Puerto Rico urged the San Juan City Assembly on Wednesday to reject a proposed 90‑year concession that would allow Smart Parking System LLC to develop and operate a 950‑space multi-level parking garage on public coastal land at the Third Millennium Park (Parque del Tercer Milenio) in San Juan.

The groups presented formal testimony opposing Ordinance P. de O. Núm. 55, Serie 2025‑2026, arguing that the project would permanently alter one of San Juan’s most important recreational and environmental assets.

“The proposal for a 950‑vehicle parking structure ignores the physical limits of the space, violates the natural beauty of the area, and will have severe environmental consequences for the community and future generations,” said Gradissa Fernández, spokesperson for Escambrón Unido. She warned that a massive concrete structure filled with cars would increase local temperatures and introduce oil and gasoline runoff into fragile marine ecosystems.

Escambrón Unido, formed in 2022 by regular users of the Escambrón beach and the Parque del Tercer Milenio, said the measure is designed to satisfy parking demands created by a 2022 municipal ordinance that authorized leasing portions of the Escambrón to the Normandie Hotel restoration project without public hearings or an environmental impact study.

“The developers are demanding parking not for a 120‑room hotel -- which would require roughly 30 spaces under standard hotel guidelines -- but to support a large‑scale events pavilion included in the hotel’s plans,” Fernández added. “That pavilion would permanently transform the Escambrón’s character as a passive recreation area.”

She cited a 2024 study by oceanographers from Sociedad Ambiente Marino documenting catastrophic mortality of acropora palmata coral colonies in the Escambrón, linked to high sea‑surface temperatures and urban runoff. Fernández also noted that the 2021 Land Use Mitigation Plan designates the entire zone as an evacuation area prone to flooding, storm surge and tsunamis -- conditions that prohibit permanent structures.

In its written testimony, Sierra Club Puerto Rico emphasized that the controversy extends beyond a single construction proposal.

“This public hearing is not only about a parking garage. It is about how we manage our public assets, how we protect our urban parks, and what kind of city we intend to leave to future generations,” said Hernaliz Vázquez, the organization’s director. “Before committing a coastal public space for up to 90 years, the Municipality must demonstrate -- with evidence and planning -- that such a concession is the best alternative to serve the public interest.”

Vázquez argued that the public record does not sufficiently justify the project’s need, evaluate less harmful alternatives, assess climate resilience, or analyze cumulative impacts and ecosystem services -- all essential elements when a concession impacts public land for multiple generations.

Sierra Club Puerto Rico urged the Municipal Legislature to apply rigorous scrutiny before approving the measure, to refrain from authorizing the concession without a complete and substantiated record, and to ensure that decisions about coastal public spaces are made with transparency, technical evidence, and meaningful citizen participation.

“The Parque del Tercer Milenio and the Escambrón are part of a coastal public‑space system that provides environmental, recreational, and climate‑adaptation functions,” Vázquez said. “The central question is not whether a parking garage can be built, but whether the Municipality has demonstrated that this is the best alternative to serve the public interest.”

At press time, the Municipality of San Juan had not answered requests for comment.