Herbert, Rowland & Grubic, Inc. - HRG’s Post

Excellent takeaways from this recent NYT article on the often-overlooked challenge of parking in real estate development. As a fan of insightful infographics, it’s great to see the complexity and cost of parking illustrated so clearly and accessibly. Sam Charney makes the great (and agonizing) point about the risks of investing in expensive below-grade parking—especially when, in some markets, the ideal number of spaces might actually be zero. The City of Yes’ proposed parking policy changes are a key step towards freeing up budget and space for more housing in our city. https://lnkd.in/gKdNp7tn

Parking reform and #missingmiddlehousing are fundamentally linked. 🔗 "To make [it] a truly viable form of housing, 'cities need to free these future homes from the tangle of regulations governing parking spaces.' " 🅿 Read more: https://lnkd.in/gMR2Nm2k #parking #parkingreform #parkingminimums #njhousing #housingreform #housingpolicy #buildmorehousing

What’s to become of Scarborough’s ‘Golden Mile?’ The historic Golden Mile in Scarborough, Ont. will be undergoing a massive transformation over the next few decades, bringing new life to a notable area. The City of Toronto’s Golden Mile Secondary Plan encompasses Eglinton Avenue between Victoria Park and Birchmount Road. The total area is about 280 acres. “It’s a complete redevelopment of those lands as they currently sit for the most part,” said Emily Caldwell, senior planner with the Scarborough District City Planning Division at the City of Toronto. Most of the existing properties will be redeveloped, she added. “There are a number of other sites as well that will be subject to redevelopment, a phased redevelopment because most of these sites are very large…they will be parceled off and developed in phases,” Caldwell explained. The 19-acre site where the Golden Mile shopping centre is located, 1880 Eglinton Ave. E., will be one of the first areas to undergo redevelopment. The mall is almost 70 years old. Choice Properties is the landowner and The Daniels Corporation is the developer. “That application has approvals for both official plan and zoning bylaw amendments,” Caldwell said. “The developers and landowners are submitting the phase one application which will be right at the immediate corner of Vic Park and Eglinton.” In addition to multiple buildings there will be multiple uses. “There are also proposed retail uses, there are residential uses, there is this community agency space and there is also potentially…the term used by Choice and Daniels is ‘communiversity,’ which is community university,” Caldwell explained. “They are proposing that some floors would be dedicated for that type of use in partnership with Centennial College and University of Toronto at Scarborough.” The Bank of Montreal is proposing to have their branch located there as well. It will be relocated from the existing location which is further east. The first part of the project will not require any demolition. Follow the author on X/Twitter @DCN_Angela.

I appreciate this article from the The New York Times, where the journalists took the time to understand the impacts that overbuilding parking has on new urban development projects. More than 85 cities across the U.S. have removed minimum parking requirements, most in the last 3 years, and of all places to still have this requirement, New York City is certainly not the place for it. A new apartment building in Brooklyn, one block from a subway station, is mandated to have 193 parking spaces. “Construction costs run from $10,000 per parking space in a surface lot to $70,000 per space in an underground garage.” In my conversations with developers, that cost per space can be upwards of $100,000 per space or more in costly price per square foot locations. Removing these car parking minimums does not mean that a developer would provide zero parking; it’s possible that they will provide parking, if their target demographic really needs it and is asking for it. The trade off is that more parking leads to more expensive housing. The simplest way to reduce housing and transportation costs for renters in cities is to build less parking, near transit, with access to bike infrastructure, and shared mobility services. “These rules were written at a time when cars defined everything... We are in a different era today," said the head of New York's Planning Commission. https://lnkd.in/g-ZU23Ki #sustainabledevelopment #transitorienteddevelopment #urbanpolicy #sustainablemobility

We talk a lot about zoning reform in #YIMBY discourse, but this is often a policy discussion that involves a balance of political will and legislation. One thing we don't talk about very much is reforming city bureaucracy-- an often quite gnarly space of habituated, rote procedures and box-checking, that effectively exists outside of both public policy and the legislative process. I can speak from personal experience from having worked in a building department where, in spite of a vast body of institutional knowledge and professional talent among the rank-and-file, managers were often more interested in lecturing me on the inappropriate color of my footwear (I wish I were joking) than on collaboratively building a more equitable and functional city. I have stories about this for days. But it makes me wonder how much more housing we might be able to build-- and therefore how much more affordable housing might be at large- if we were able to reform the process of permitting, entitlements, and planning reviews. A new academic paper looks at this question by using 12 years of construction permitting data with some modified time value of money equations to try and model how speeding up the timelines for permitting-- on average about a year and a half in Los Angeles- could have outsized effects on encouraging the rate of more housing production and therefore more affordable housing. Thanks to Jennifer Castenson for sharing!

🔹 "New provincial legislation requires cities to remove minimum parking requirements for SSMUH and within TOAs, but the City is going beyond what's required." 🔹 "On Wednesday, Vancouver City Council voted in favour of removing minimum parking requirements across the city, joining the growing list of North American cities that are changing their beliefs and mandates around parking." 🔹 "As part of the two pieces of legislation, local governments are required to remove minimum parking requirements for projects that are SSMUH or located within TOAs by June 30, 2024. Instead of removing the requirements for these two categories of projects, the City of Vancouver opted to remove the requirements across the city and for all land uses." 🔹 "The City calls this "Phase Three" of their work on parking minimums, following previous Council decisions that removed minimum parking requirements for Downtown and non-residential uses in the West End in 2018; then for multiplexes, residential uses in the West End, and the Broadway Plan Area in Fall 2023." 🔹 "Eliminating minimum parking requirements does not equate to a ban on building new parking, and developers are still expected to provide parking when and where they see a need — such as with strata residential projects, which have historically had a higher demand for vehicle parking than rental projects. Removing parking minimums can also potentially reduce the cost of housing, as not all residential units include a parking space." #vancouver #development #vancouverrealestate | Storeys

The problem with mandating off-street parking comes down to basic geometry. Cars take up a lot of space. In place after place that has granted flexibility over parking, property owners have taken up the opportunity with gusto. For instance, since Seattle eliminated parking mandates for backyard cottages in 2019, permit applications have more than tripled. It’s difficult to know exactly how many ADUs go unbuilt because of parking mandates—or how many spring to life due to their absence. Optional parking is just one factor of many that makes middle housing feasible. With each step towards parking flexibility, we move closer to building vibrant, sustainable communities where everyone has a place to call home.

I'm thrilled to see the City of Vancouver proposing the elimination of all minimum parking requirements citywide! This is a huge step forward in addressing housing affordability and combating our climate crisis. By removing these outdated requirements, we can better support active and sustainable transportation. Why enforce minimum parking requirements when: 🚗 Strata developers already build about 22% more parking than the by-law minimums on average. 🏘 Minimum parking regulations can prevent housing development on smaller and uniquely shaped properties. 💸 Reducing parking can save $60,000-$95,000 per space, significantly lowering costs for rental and non-market housing projects. This proposal builds on Phase 2 of the parking minimum removals from November last year, a project I was proud to provide technical support for along with Coriolis and BTY Group. Eliminating these requirements challenges the outdated assumption that everyone needs to own a car and will accelerate delivery of housing. Let's hope these changes get approved next week. This could be a game-changer for our city! https://lnkd.in/gaqmaM4U

When are we going to end car culture in this city? Or at least update these insane zoning rules that make no sense when we do have public transit in so much (but not all, I admit) parts of the city and we have a massive affordable housing shortage? I am ready for the 15-minute city! #UrbanPlanning #Zoning #CarCulture https://lnkd.in/eEkFRyXH

“The twin gods of Smooth Traffic and Ample Parking have turned our downtowns into places that are easy to get to, but not worth arriving at.” How much of the land in your downtown is used for parking? On average, 1/5 of downtown land in the US is used for parking. What if we used some of that space for housing, businesses, parklets, or art? Read here: https://lnkd.in/ebKDxzHE