Driving your car in a big city like New York can be a real pain, but it’s nothing compared with trying to park it.
Developers know they need to provide parking to persuade potential homeowners to part with big money for the flashiest pads, but parking garages take up valuable real-estate space, and they’re often cramped meaning drivers don’t like using them.
So some developers have come up with a high-tech solution, cramming what is effectively an automotive vending machine into some of the city’s most luxurious apartment buildings to provide parking for some of the Big Apple’s wealthiest residents.
How wealthy? Very. Spots in the robo-parking garages parking go for between $300-595k, according to a report by CNBC, and the apartments themselves run to multiple millions of dollars.
Oh, and did we mention there can be a $150 per month maintenance fee just for the parking space? It all adds up to a ton of cash, but for some drivers with expensive cars, it’s money well spent.
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“As crazy as it may sound, $300,000 for a residential parking spot is considered a reasonable price in New York City,” Senada Adzem, a Florida-based real estate broker at Douglas Elliman, told CNBC.
It works like this: you drive your car up to a kiosk in the garage, using a radio frequency ID tag to unlock access. Pressing a button sends an empty pallet up from the level below, onto which the driver moves their car. Cameras scan the vehicle to check that the doors and trunk are closed, then shuttle it away to be stored in a racking system. When the resident wants to retrieve their vehicle they simply re-swipe their transmitter tag, delivering the car – now turned through 180 degrees, meaning no reversing is required by the owner – in a little over two minutes.
The no-reversing bit has huge appeal for residents, particularly since people with this kind of money are more likely to be driving big SUVs, not Chevy Sparks. And developers love the systems because without the need to provide ramps and bi-directional driving lanes they can fit more cars per square foot.
One of the buildings equipped with the robotic parking systems is located at 121 East 22nd Street where the Toll Brothers are developing a 140-unit condo.