Welcome to the era of the $225,000 parking space
To give you an idea of how much of a premium Manhattanites place on parking, consider that a new condo development on the Lower West Side is selling five guaranteed parking spaces for $225,000 apiece. That number is on top of whatever the condos themselves cost. The knee-jerk reaction is, of course, to laugh and dismissively say something like, "Who in their right mind is going to pay that to park their car?"
There are eight people vying for those five spaces.
[Source: The New York Times]
That's just one of the anecdotes told by Vivian S. Toy in this New York Times piece. The hefty charge for parking spaces is not an isolated thing, either. Granted, prices vary from neighborhood to neighborhood, but as the Times reports, even guaranteed spots in open lots in the outer boroughs can sell for around $50,000 a pop. Some buy the spaces as investments, renting them out to cover the costs. There's a story of one family that bought three spots even though they have one car, because if they have friends or family visiting, it makes life easier. Another woman tells the Times she regrets not ponying up $165,000 for a parking space -- now unavailable -- when she bought her Manhattan condo. And that's her family's secondary residence.
Much of this stems from the fact that there are fewer places to park now than before, as garages are vanishing at rates faster than new ones are erected. It's a bonanza for developers, as the underground areas they turn into parking garages for their condos have the same property value as the above-ground living sections. For obvious reasons, however, parking garages don't cost nearly as much to build, and people are clearly willing to part with big bucks for the convenience and security of not having to street park. Click the "Read" link to check out the article in full, and be happy if you're not paying as much for a parking place as some people do for a house.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
srivendel 4:41PM (7/12/2007)
Nothing crazy about that, just free markets at work. People are free not to buy the spaces if they don't value them that highly.
Other options include walking, public transit, or just not living in Manhattan.
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RACER X 4:48PM (7/12/2007)
That's exactly why I will never live in a big city, I can't stand the parking problems. Even in Chicago which is not nearly as congested as New York parking is $15 for like 12 hours.
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Reuben 4:48PM (7/12/2007)
Matt Damon.......
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BriCarGuy 7:27PM (7/12/2007)
Ahahahaha... nice
geo.stewart 4:52PM (7/12/2007)
They're not right...in the head.
why pay that much to live so close to so many other people. Thank God I dont have to pay that much to live in suburbia.
only partly joking. i know some people love it but it escapes me.
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Brian Dreggors 4:53PM (7/12/2007)
Too much $$$ = Too little brains
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Chris 4:54PM (7/12/2007)
Not crazy at all. When your paying $450-$700 a month (4,800-8,400 a year) to park a car, it's not crazy at all. Add to the fact that you have to pay 10% or 19% tax on monthly parking (resident, non resident) on top. Then, I assume you could likely get a interest exp benefit on your Fed taxes (if tied in with your condo)!
Wait, where are these parking spaces?
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Mike G 10:30PM (7/12/2007)
Um yeah it's crazy. On top of paying so much to park a car in one of the few cities in america where you're not supposed to need one, you have to live in NYC. Which is a dirty rat hole. Go visit Seattle some time. Then cry softly.
Mr. Oak 5:08PM (7/12/2007)
I work not very far from this location. People assume that if you live in NYC and own a car you don't use public transp. That is far from the truth. New Yorkers for the most part use public transportation for their everyday business, and their cars for social/evening conveyence.
However, what do you do with the car when you are not driving it? Some park in public garages for a hefty monthly fee, others do the alternate side of the street parking dance and rack up parking tickets, get your car vandalized, and banged into by idiots who can't parallel park. It can be very stressful. Besides I'm sure they'll be able to recover the money when they eventually sell. All this means, is that they esentially got free parking for a number of years, in NYC.
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FingerSled 5:23PM (7/12/2007)
Here's what my salary allows me to own.-----And here's where my salary allows me to park it.
http://i7.tinypic.com/5y9ftcn.jpg
My other car will be a 2008 Dodge Challenger.
Yep!! All this, and only $28 dollars per month per parking space.---I have 2 spaces.
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oinky 6:41PM (7/12/2007)
$225,000 at 5% interest yields $937.50 a month. I would rent a parking spot at much less than that and have a nice dinner with the remainder of the change!
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l.i.dave 5:31PM (7/12/2007)
The real suckers are the rest of the country. Right now billions of your tax dollars are going to protect those greedy self centered jerk offs.
The cherry on top is Bloomberg who two years after try to force a mega stadium in the center of Manhattan has now decided that he cares about traffic congestion. My a*s, he cares about taxes and he wants to tax everyone who comes into to the rich part of the city, because let's be honest if you're going to have the gaul to go there you should at least pay for the privilege.
More taxes so the rich can stay safe. Too bad his plan like his stadium will fail. A do nothing mayor, doing nothing.
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Alex K 4:15PM (7/13/2007)
"Right now billions of your tax dollars are going to protect those greedy self centered jerk offs. "
Sorry, we should share some with you because "the terrorists" are so interested in tipping your cows over... NYC actually gets VERY LITTLE of the Homeland Security budget, way too little to actually make a dent in what is spent protecting the city.
l.i.dave 5:23PM (7/13/2007)
i live in ny stupid
Vinny 5:32PM (7/12/2007)
Where the heck did you get that picture?
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Seminole 5:35PM (7/12/2007)
I live in South Fla, and stayed at a hotel on South Beach for spring break with some friends. The parking there was beyond horrible, and the valet attendants for the spots we got for a day, trashed our cars. Mine came back with some sort of sand coating all over it. The person at the hotel's front desk told us stories of the valets parking the cars on the side of the roads and getting tickets, then they just throw them out leaving you to get the bill in the mail later. I can't even imagine a place like NYC. I'd prefer to visit, not live there.
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Alex K 4:20PM (7/13/2007)
Your comment has no relevance to BUYING parking in NYC. Valet has it's risks anywhere you go, but we weren't discussing valet parking.
andy 6:27PM (7/12/2007)
yea! other people pay more than i do for stuff. they must be idiots! and they must be greedy, too!
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Paul 6:43PM (7/12/2007)
Thinking of it as a parking spot makes it seem trivial. Think of it instead as a small piece of real estate. Like all real estate it is pretty much the safest investment you can make. In Manhatten, it's pretty much a sure thing.
In a few years, when growth has made parking even more scarce, the buyers will sell them for a profit. What a bunch of idiots!
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gsolman6 8:28AM (7/13/2007)
That is an extreme case but it does point out a larger issue, that is all of the spaces we get for free. For example at my job I have free parking at a 7 floor facility for which my employer fits the bill. Those funds indirectly affect my pay b/c my employer is subsidizing the cost of my space. A more fair system would to be either charge the actual cost of the space to all who want them or give credits to employees who do not use the spaces. Either way the costs are internalized and users have incentive not to use those spaces. Of course this system though it is more fair mainly benefits tree huggers, public transit users, and cyclist who are in the minority hence the reason the topic is rarely brought up.
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