St Francis’ Car Park upgrade highlights Wilson Parking's quality facility management

Introduction

Built between 1841 and 1845, St Francis’ Church is the oldest Catholic Church in Victoria. The 6 level multi-deck purpose-built car park, which has 311 parking bays, is located next to St Francis’ Church at 312 Lonsdale Street in Melbourne and was established in 1992.

Recently, Wilson Parking won the tender to operate the car park under a lease arrangement and undertook a comprehensive carpark upgrade to provide an excellent customer experience for the thousands of parkers using the car park which is conveniently located in the busy retail district in the Melbourne CBD.

Project Scope

When Wilson Parking took over the operation of the St Francis’ car park as part of our portfolio, the car park was in a condition that did not provide an ideal customer experience. The site had not seen any investment in its equipment or presentation for some time. Given its prime location, we recognised the importance of revitalising the car park to meet the standard of service our customers expect and assure our landlords that they can trust us to deliver quality facility management.

Our Chief Operating Officer, Adam Lanson, says “We are committed to optimising every car park to attract and service our customer base. Ensuring our car parks meet the highest standards, we enhance the digital customer experience in each location, offering an excellent customer experience.” When it comes to delivering value for our landlord partners, he continues, “Our goal is always to make parking easier, more efficient, and more enjoyable for customers, which adds lasting value to the space for our landlord partners.”

Process and Implementation

The Wilson Parking Operations team collaborated with a variety of contractors and suppliers to ensure clear deliverables and alignment on the desired outcomes. The types of contractors and suppliers required for this upgrade ranged from specialist car park equipment providers, cleaning specialists and signage providers to painting and electrical experts.

Once we took control of the car park, we started with a deep clean of the whole car park, which involved a hot wash of all surfaces and pressure washing of the floors and stairwells. To ensure the cleaning met our high standards, it was handled by two different specialist cleaning contractors, each responsible for different areas of the clean.

Signage upgrades were also carried out by two specialist providers, handling specific elements of the project to ensure the highest quality. They installed a comprehensive signage package that featured new lightboxes above the entry and exit lanes, as well as wall-mounted Variable Messaging Signs (VMS).

In addition to the signage, we completed extensive painting improvements across the site, including the re-lining of all parking bays, repainting the stairwells, lift lobbies, and safety railings, and refreshing the floors at the entry and exit lanes. We also added a feature wall along the exit lane to prominently display the Wilson Parking brand.

Technology and Integration

Committed to providing quality facility management for our landlords, the car park underwent a complete equipment overhaul, including the installation of a double-sided Variable Rate Board (VRB). This allows for quick and remote rate adjustments, avoiding delays associated with manual rate changes to static signage and ensuring rates are always displayed correctly.

Additionally, a new internationally used SkiData access control equipment 1-in/2-out system was installed, ensuring seamless integration with Wilson Parking’s systems and online platforms. This system allows for effective use of our digital channels, including our user-friendly website and the Wilson Parking App. Through these channels, we provide our customers with a convenient and efficient way to easily locate available parking spaces and prepay for their parking.

This upgrade makes it easier to generate reports on car park utilisation, intercom calls, and more. These reports are crucial for improving operations. By leveraging this data, we can make more informed decisions to optimise income and ensure an excellent experience.

Providing an Excellent Customer Experience

To minimise disruption to parking customers, the upgrade was completed in phases over the course of 3 months, finishing in February 2025. We are pleased to see the results of the upgrade of the St. Francis' car park and will be using the car park as a benchmark, helping us enhance the customer experience at both new and existing locations. The Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament at St Francis’ Church are very happy with the improvements, with Fr Ben Ho SSS saying “Wilson Parking has helped us create a safe and professional facility for car park users through its upgrades. We are very pleased with the new equipment and the exceptional facility management services provided by Wilson Parking.”

We remain committed to finding innovative ways to ensure our customers have a positive experience every time they park at a Wilson Parking car park.