Where some people see a wide-open space, you see untapped potential. It's what sets you apart among commercial real estate owners: the ability to see profit in the unlikeliest of places.
If you own a commercial property with a parking lot, chances are you've mulled over the question of how to maximize its profit potential. However, it can be challenging to get things off the ground until you actually sit down with an actionable plan.
In this article, let's explore four ways to uncover profit from your property's parking lot - one obvious strategy and three outside-the-box commercial real estate solutions.
Adopt Intelligent Parking Solutions
Here's the obvious strategy: Get serious about your parking solutions. Across industries, businesses have felt the squeeze to modernize recently - to adopt technologies and processes that make the user experience easier. That's no different in the parking industry.
Parking customers want ease. They want convenience. Therefore, if you hope to extract maximum profits from your parking lot, look to parking solutions that streamline the experience with a user-friendly app, LPR technology (license plate recognition), modern equipment and a sophisticated parking management system.
Not sure where to start? Contact a parking solutions provider to explore what options work best for your property.
Allow Modular Businesses
Sometimes, you have to think outside the parking space. You have to ask yourself: What else can a parking lot be?
If your property is well-situated in a high-traffic area, you might consider partnering with a company like REEF to fill your space with modular businesses. These businesses could be delivery kitchens that offer delivery to the surrounding community, micro-healthcare clinics, or even retail locations.
Aside from uncovering new revenue streams for your parking lot, you can feel good knowing that you've created what REEF calls a neighborhood hub, a central locus of commercial activity that enriches the community.
Host Micro-Fulfillment Centers
Before 2020, E-commerce was already booming. But, according to Statista, digital channels became the most popular alternative to crowded in-store shopping once the pandemic started, and that increase in popularity will likely stick.
What does that mean for the owner of a parking lot? As E-commerce retailers look to expand their business, they need fulfillment centers in high-traffic areas to solve their last-mile issues. Your parking might be the perfect space for micro-fulfillment centers.
Hold Events
The pandemic didn't just change the nature of shopping. It also changed the nature of events. More event planners and hosts are looking for safer alternatives to indoor events by appraising outdoor alternatives. Consider using a portion of your outdoor parking lot to host things like food events, Christmas markets, corporate parties, etc.
Of course, transforming your parking lot into an event space isn't a permanent solution, and its capacity to generate revenue is seasonally dependent. Still, it may be a smart stopgap measure as you look toward partnering with a parking solutions provider or neighborhood company.
As 2022 approaches, put your parking lot on your New Year's resolutions list. Uncover profit from your parking lot through sophisticated parking solutions and outside-the-box ideas.
