For an architect, parking ramps present a challenge.

How do you blend tons of concrete and steel into the landscape?

Architects for the 629-space parking ramp on Clark St. which is part of "Impact Warren" seem to have done their best to minimize the potential stark appearance of a the downtown parking ramp.

In some aspects, the parking garage in Warren is "going to be pretty unique," said Thomas Harley of Harley Architects, "Impact Warren¹ architect. "We're having a great time with it."

Harley said that R.W. Larson Architects of Warren has actually handled the landscaping aspect of the parking garage and incoporated a considerable amount of greenery into the project.

"Landscaping is a huge part of it," said Harley. Verticle mesh will be installed at intervals along the facade, reaching from the street level to the top level of the ramp, so that vines may be placed on sections of the exterior, said Harley.

"If it works, it should be nice and leafy," said Harley. "We're told the vines will bloom, even in Warren." If the climbing plants thrive, Harley said, the ramp "should be pretty green looking in a couple of years."

David Sobina, landscape architect for R.W. Larson, said the flowering vines will climb trellises between each column of theparking garage. Sobina said there will also be trees and new street lights placed alternately along Clark St. and evergreens will be planted outside portions of the building. The rest of the garage will be landscaped with flowering shrubs, ground cover and perennials, said Sobina.

"I think it will meld in great with the downtown," Sobina said.

From the first level to the top deck, the garage will stand 46 feet high, not including the 50 foot high brick and glass tower on the Clark St. side of the garage. The garage will be equipped with an elevator.

The main entrance and exit for motorists will both be located on Clark St., although Harley said that Clark St. will be realigned so that it is north of its present location.

The ramp will have five levels, one at street level and four upper levels, said Harley, and the design will allow drivers to "short circuit" and reach the main exit from any level.

The ceilings will be high enough that users of the ramp don't feel as though they have to duck to avoid beams, said Harley.

Bids for the ramp will be opened in April and construction is expected to begin this year.

Utility companies have already authorized the relocation of lines and transformers in the Clark St. area, said Harley.

Governor Ed Rendell has pledged the entire $8.2 million needed for the parking garage, which will more than replace parking spaces lost due to "Impact Warren" construction in what is now the Island Parking Lot. The governor has already provided $3.2 million and the $5 million balance will be included in a state bond issue which has to be approved by state lawmakers.