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A New Endangered Species

Lord knows we have enough shortages in today’s economy of abundance.

First, we can’t develop badly needed freeways because there’s a shortage of gnat catchers, speckled owls, mesa mint and assorted other critters and plants.

Utilities say they can’t produce enough electrical power which, among other things, is supposed to explain the rocketing utility rates we’re paying. Oil companies say they can’t refine enough gasoline to keep prices anywhere near what they were until only a few months ago.

And now, as if that weren’t enough for those who do business in office buildings, there’s yet another endangered species that is having an increasing impact on the cost of doing business.

Behold, the endangered parking space. Yep, parking throughout much of the San Diego metropolitan area has become a scarce commodity. And there’s ample evidence that suggests the problem is only going to get worse.

There was a time when downtown San Diego was the only location where adequate parking was a problem. Not all, but much of the rationale for developing Mission Valley, University Towne Centre and other locales as office submarkets years ago was the opportunity to offer free and adequate parking — something that not even the staunchest downtown advocate could counter.

In increasing numbers, tenants, including an assorted law firm or two, flocked to the city’s northern environs.

Today, Mission Valley, the Golden Triangle, Sorrento Mesa/Valley and even as far north as the Del Mar Heights area are filled with office parks, complexes, buildings, and the sort. However, parking facilities have not even begun to keep up with the number of office suites in those areas. There are not nearly enough peripheral lots and, with the exception of some areas of Mission Valley where the San Diego Trolley runs, there’s inadequate mass transit for those who are even willing to ride public transportation.

What parking is available, is as expensive as any commodity in short supply. As an example of just one area, the premium office buildings in the Golden Triangle today charge a hefty monthly fee for parking spots that were absolutely free only a couple of years ago.

Employees who, of necessity, must use a car to get to work in that and other suburban locations, are having to pay sizable monthly rates. Employers who pay for their workers’ parking are surely factoring that fringe benefit cost against salaries in their employees’ overall compensation package.

Even in the suburbs, there “ain’t no free lunch.”

Since the parking crisis began downtown, it becomes useful to look at what’s now taking place in terms of parking facilities being provided and what the cost of parking is there. Not much and very high, in that order.

Downtown landlords are now charging the highest parking rates ever assessed. It’s becoming more common to see parking fees as high as $150 per month. Off-site parking spaces in surface lots which only earlier this year were going for $85 a month are fetching $130 per month now. And even those surface lots are becoming an endangered species, as they become victims of the downtown redevelopment programs.

This isn’t going to sit all that well with those who are accustomed to driving to and from work, but downtown tenants and their workers do have the option of mass transit, given the relatively easy accessibility to the San Diego Trolley, the popular Coaster, and city bus routes.

I’m not into most conspiracy theories, but the fact that so many of the city’s surface lots are being taken out of the parking inventory in the name of redevelopment does seem to be a dream come true for those bureaucrats and elected officials who have longed for the day when automobiles will no longer be the primary mode of transportation in the downtown area.

If that’s the case, can Kearny Mesa and even Rancho Bernardo be far behind?

Jason Hughes is founder of Hughes Marino, an award-winning commercial real estate company with offices across the nation. A pioneer in the field of tenant representation, Jason has exclusively represented tenants and buyers for more than 30 years. Contact Jason at 1-844-662-6635 or jason@hughesmarino.com to learn more.



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