The future downtown parking garage will be designed by Eley Guild Hardy Architects, a firm that has its stamp on several Oxford structures, including Oxford High School and the new University of Mississippi parking garage.

The newly appointed Downtown Garage Design Team Selection Committee spent all day Tuesday interviewing four design firms that were whittled down from a list of about a dozen architectural firms.

Chairman Tom Sharpe told the Oxford Board of Aldermen Tuesday night during their regular meeting that each firm had one hour to present their proposals.

“After all four presentations were made, we discussed each of them – their strengths, weaknesses and then each member ranked the companies from one to four.”

Sharpe said EGH was ranked No. 1 by eight of the 10 committee members and No. 2 by the remaining two members.

Other than OHS and the parking garage on campus, EGH is the lead design team for the Student Union renovations, University of Mississippi Medical Center’s School of Medicine, Mississippi Aquarium in Gulfport and the Mississippi History and Civil Rights Museum in Jackson.

With offices in Jackson and Biloxi, EGH was formed in 2008 when Guild Hardy Architects merged with Eley Associates of Jackson and is one of the largest architectural and interior design firms in the state. According to its website, EGH is committed to sustainable design and construction standards, with many of their projects being LEED certified.

The Board of Aldermen approved the recommendation of the Design Team Selection Committee to hire EGH to design the downtown parking garage that will be constructed in the city-owned parking lot behind the Oxford University Club and allow city staff to negotiate a contract with EGH.