Retrofitting Parking Garages Could Help With Affordable Housing Shortage

Retrofitting unused parking garages to residential space could solve the nation's housing shortage.

Retrofitting unused parking garages to residential space could solve the nation's housing shortage. iStock.com

 

Connecting state and local government leaders

COMMENTARY | As Covid-19 shattered normal commuting patterns and center city parking use, some are investigating how high-rise garages and parking lots can be converted to provide space for housing.

Long before the pandemic, America was facing a housing affordability crisis. At the same time, another unrelated trend was taking place—a combination of the increased use of app-based ride-booking services, more people living within walking or biking distance of their workplaces, and an incredible rise in online shopping. Those factors cut demand for parking spaces in central business districts and suburban retail centers.

Then Covid-19 hit. Overnight, our country went from being a commuter driven society where office workers spent 30 to 90 minutes on average just getting to or from work each day, to one where many people with desk jobs are now working from home. E-commerce expanded even more. And parking lots that were already underused are now even emptier.

Meanwhile, because of the economic upheaval the virus caused, millions of Americans, many of them in lower-wage and service jobs, were cast into greater financial peril, struggling to buy food or keep a roof over their families’ heads.

There are about 328 million residents in the U.S. and more than 500 million parking spots. With Covid-19 accelerating housing shortages and causing profound changes in driving patterns, the time is now for planning and zoning boards nationwide to consider how parking can be converted to residential space.

For parking lot operators, the pandemic means they are now saddled with even more unused garage space than they had before and little hope of ever getting back to the “lot full” levels they previously enjoyed, especially with expanded remote work expected to continue even after the virus outbreak is over. Recently, a major garage operator in Washington, D.C. was forced to file for bankruptcy because of the virus-driven economic downturn.

But the pandemic has also highlighted opportunities for alternative ways parking facilities can be used. Lots and garages have been adopted for temporary use as seating for local restaurants and food trucks, pop-up industrial warehouses and even outdoor theaters. 

Coupling the success of these initiatives with the housing affordability issue, some parking lot operators are now urging jurisdictions to consider retrofitting under-used garages to provide moderately priced or low-cost living space for families who have lost their homes or apartments.

Architectural firm Gensler, for example, has pioneered the use of pods, inexpensive living units that plug into parking structures as an effective way of dealing with housing shortages.

Redeveloping these garages, of course, is not without its challenges.

Many cities have parking minimums built into their zoning codes, which require developers to include parking in all of their properties. Los Angeles, for example, currently requires developers to include between one and two parking spots per new unit built. Developers can also run into inflexible zoning requirements that prohibit converting a commercial property, such as a parking garage, into a residential property of any kind.

Beyond zoning issues, retrofitting parking garages can present problems. Garages simply weren’t designed for people to live in. Low ceilings, sloped floors and an inability to handle the same weight loads all combine to make parking lot conversions more difficult than new construction. So do local and state regulations, such as California’s seismic standards, which are vastly different for parking lots than for office or apartment buildings. 

Despite such issues, existing garages, often with nearly universal dimensions based on a parking space, allow for prefabricated modules to be easily placed within the facilities’ concrete shells. These units can also make use of the already present vertical circulation and utility connections within the garage.        

Examples of such successful retrofits include a former parking garage in Wichita, Kansas that was converted into an apartment building containing 44 studios, each measuring about 650 square-feet. In Boston, a former surface parking lot is now the site of a 30-story high-rise featuring affordable housing.

Enabling parking garages to be redeveloped as moderately priced dwelling units, promises to help put our country in a significantly better position to solve longstanding problems with affordable housing and homelessness that the pandemic has brought into even sharper focus.

Wes Guckert, PTP is president & CEO of The Traffic Group, a leading Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business traffic engineering and transportation planning firm serving clients nationally and internationally. He is also a Fellow of ITE and Instructor at Harvard University. For more information: www.trafficgroup.com or follow them on Twitter @TheTrafficGroup.

NEXT STORY: Analysis: One Way or Another, Texans Will Get the Bill for Fixing the Electric Grid

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.