What Makes a Parking Lot Desirable?
Ruth Goodwin
The parking industry generates more than $20 billion in annual revenue. With behaviors still sensitive to COVID-19 and more offices implementing back to work programs, car usage will continue to rise. Real estate owners across the globe should be more focused on how parking can support existing tenant revenues and capitalize on this growing demand.
However, how does a property owner successfully capitalize on this demand? What makes a parking lot successful or desirable? Here are a few key elements that make a parking lot more desirable:
Location
As with any real estate: location, location, location. Where the parking lot is located will affect the demand, with locations in highly dense areas or close to nightlife, entertainment venues and office buildings generating more varied demand across the day.
Organization
Unorganized parking lots can cause confusion, traffic jams, and make for an unpleasant experience for the driver. Parking managers and parking facilities should have clear signage and direct instructions on how to enter, exit, and pay for the space.
Facility Condition/Security
Giving parkers a peace of mind when they park in your space is essential not only to attract parkers, but to retain them as well. Having an access-control device, on-site security, regular cleanings/maintenance, and good lighting are great ways to ensure your facility is in good condition, which can help to make your lot more desirable. Furthermore, better lit environments provide additional safety to parkers, so ensuring that there are no dark corners of the facility will make all parkers feel safer.
Hours
Having flexible hours is another way for your lot to be desirable to more people. For example; having a lot available 24/7 means that you can cater your lot to people who need parking overnight and/or people who just need the lot for the day. However, by restricting your hours (ie. day-time, 7am to 6pm only), you’re also restricting the number of people that can have access to it.
EV-Charging
Between 2020 and 2021, North America’s plug-in EV registration almost doubled (96% increase). With the increased adoption of EV, offering EV-charging is a great way to increase the demand for your parking lot.
A good example of a non-traditional parking asset that’s capitalized on their unused parking spaces via WhereiPark is the The Eighth and Grand apartments in DTLA. This multifamily apartment building was centrally located near the Staples Centre in DTLA and offered their 24/7, access-controlled parking to the public. Through WhereiPark, the Eighth and Grand apartments rented out 52 parking spots! This resulted in an incredible annualized NOI of over $84,000. With an assumption of a 4.5% cap rate, this helped increase the value of their multifamily asset by $1,870,000.
Real estate owners no longer need to operate with empty spaces. Whether it’s a mall, multifamily apartment, commercial real estate owner, etc. If there’s any space at all, it can be an opportunity for ancillary revenue.
Monetize your Spaces
Contact one of our dedicated team members today.
Author: Bram Silver is a Business Development Specialist at WhereiPark. He specializes in working with multifamily property owners to help them create a new stream of ancillary revenue via their underutilized parking assets. He’s worked with some of the nation’s largest multifamily companies such as Avalon Bay, Greystar, Essex, Equity Residential, Bozzutto, and more.