Do you own a parking lot that is sitting around either partially or entirely unused? You’re not the only one.
It is estimated that there are eight unused parking spaces for every car in the United States, making for a total of around 800 million lots across the country. That makes for a ton of unused space, untapped potential, and lost revenue.
Real estate investors will understand the dread that comes with having any type of vacant property. As we all know, any unused property can quickly become a money pit and is a missed opportunity for revenue. Specifically, when it comes to unused urban space, paying to upkeep the land can be extremely costly.
So, what can one do to bring back revenue to their unused property? Let’s investigate.
Why Are There So Many Unused Spaces
To understand how to solve this problem, we must first look at what caused the issue in the first place.
Back in the mid-1940s, a mandate was set that required developers in the United States to supply on-site parking for all of their properties. The purpose of this mandate was to reduce the number of cars that needed to park on the street in an attempt to make streets less congested.
When these regulations were first put in place, development was on the rise in North America, and people were worried that there wouldn’t be enough places for everyone to park. Instead, the opposite problem occurred, and we have been left with an amount of parking spaces that far surpasses the demand for them.
Even to this day, minimum parking requirements are still in place for developers across the country. Considering the rate that people are driving at has decreased over the past few years and the number of lots we already have in the country, this mandate is extremely outdated. Not only are empty lots an eyesore in city centers, but they’re also money pits for the people who own and operate them. Without cars filling the spaces, no revenue is coming in for the lot owners and operators and the land is simply wasted space.
More Than a Parking Lot
In order to fill empty urban spaces, real estate investors need to look at their properties as more than just a place for people to park their cars. By working with a company that offers opportunities for passive income through real estate, investors can unlock new ways to utilize their vacant urban space and increase revenue.
If your land is located in a bustling city centre, consider working with a company like REEF to license your space to modular businesses. All you have to do is register your property on their website. If it meets their eligibility requirements, REEF will introduce a new, turnkey use to your property, taking care of setup, staffing, and daily operations.
REEF uses for parking lots and other, similar properties range from micro-clinics to delivery kitchens. Each new use brings goods and services closer to where customers work and live. Not only can you increase your revenue, but your real estate can also be transformed into an essential part of the neighborhood.
Parking Solutions
If you want to or are required to keep your urban space functioning as a parking lot, consider working with a parking management company to help you implement innovative and modern technologies. By enhancing the parking experience, more customers will be drawn to your lot and you will be able to bring in more revenue.
New technologies are squeezing their way into almost every industry in North America, and the parking industry is no exception. The modern consumer is looking for two main things: convenience and ease. So, in order to drive traffic, businesses must find a way to deliver on those two things.
Whether or not your land is developed already, parking management companies will work with the property owner to create a plan that will work specifically for their land and address the issues they’re having.
Parking solutions that could be implemented in your lot include:
- License Plate Recognition (LPR) technology
- A parking app
- Valet service
- Shuttle service
- Parking Access Revenue Control Systems (PARCS)
- Electric vehicle charging stations
- Bike and scooter storage
As you can tell, all hope is not lost for bringing business back to your empty urban property. By implementing innovative technologies and finding new ways of utilizing the space, real estate investors can fill their vacant properties and increase their streams of revenue.
