There are multiple vacant sites in Salt Lake City that have been passed over for development, at least in part, due to the inability to incorporate sufficient parking. Although it may not be the most glamorous part of building design, parking is nonetheless essential to the success of any project.
As urban real estate prices continue to rise, developers are faced with the problem of how to best utilize limited land to maximize their return on investment. Parking stalls take up valuable space, yet they cannot be ignored. Include too few parking stalls in your multi-family project, and too few tenants will choose to rent there. Provide too little parking for an office tower, and leasable floors can sit empty.
Despite investments in public and alternative transportation, personal vehicles remain the most popular mode of travel for the vast majority of Americans. In the Intermountain West, expansive rural areas and smaller city sizes contribute to a higher number of personal vehicles compared to larger urban areas, both making parking availability a higher priority for residents and increasing the number of required parking spaces.
Even if an owner wanted to ignore the need for parking altogether, most local government entities have minimum parking ordinances, requiring any new construction to meet a certain threshold of off-street parking. The number of required parking stalls is generally determined by the number of residential units and/or square footage of commercial spaces like shops and restaurants. Despite the high real estate cost of parking, owners will still often go above these minimums to secure financing from banks or to attract tenants and clients. One study found that nearly one out of every three acres in Salt Lake City is dedicated to parking.
As city populations rise and parking becomes increasingly expensive per stall, owners and developers are looking for efficient, high-density parking solutions that can accommodate more vehicles in less space.
Enter the Automated Parking System
One solution to the problem of parking is automated parking systems (APS) – also known as automated parking facilities (APF), automated vehicle storage and retrieval systems (AVSRS), or mechanical parking. These systems operate by using a machine to elevate and store vehicles automatically inside the garage. There are several types of APS, but most of them work like a car vending machine, where the system takes the vehicle away automatically and returns it when the driver uses a code or fob to request their vehicle.
Because there is no need for things like driving lanes and space for people to walk, and cars can be stored more closely together, automated parking systems can achieve a 40%-80% reduction in the space required for parking. In the same amount of space one would use for a parking structure, parking capacity can be doubled or even tripled depending on the height available.
APSs have been used in earnest since the 1950s, with the first models introduced as early as 1905. APSs are already used heavily in Japan, with over 1.6 million stalls in use. Despite their popularity in Asia and Europe, they are still gaining momentum in the United States. Initially, long retrieval times and mechanical problems caused automated parking systems to go out of fashion in North America. Today, however, APSs are reliable and effective, with many systems reaching retrieval times around two minutes.
The Case for Automated Parking
The most obvious advantage of an APS is saved space. An APS means less space needs to be dedicated to parking. The result is that a project that does not need as much space to accommodate a similar building footprint, reducing real estate costs. Alternatively, more space on a property can be utilized for the building itself. An automated parking system can even make unbuildable sites worthy of a second look.
APSs can integrate into a free-standing parking structure or into structured parking within a podium below a multi-family project. A two-level puzzle can operate with as little as 12’ of clear space. If an owner or developer is already entertaining the idea of building a parking structure, adding just a couple feet to the lowest level can dramatically increase the parking yield. Consider this scenario: a two-level above grade puzzle system can provide 17 stalls in the place of nine surface spaces. If that first level is on grade, adding a 7’ pit can turn nine spaces into 26.
APSs also offer security benefits. Cars are safe from theft and vandalism while inside the structure, and the lack of human error during parking means there are no scraped or dented cars and no risk of pedestrian injury.
Automated parking systems have been constructed in many large cities, including San Francisco; Philadelphia; New York City; Madison, WI; and Seattle. VCBO recently installed an APS at Paperbox Lofts in Salt Lake City. The system provided a solution to the complex’s parking problem due to its unique site and location in one of the city’s densest areas.
Paperbox Lofts
Paperbox Lofts is a luxury apartment complex located less than a block from the Delta Center in downtown Salt Lake City. The property is long and narrow, requiring unique design strategies to effectively use the available space. The majority of the site is taken up by the apartment units and the required fire department access road.
Originally, the owners wanted to dedicate the automated parking space to townhomes. However, the short, narrow area available made it difficult to create a comfortable living space, and the idea was abandoned. Without an idea of how to create a functional space in the area, it was initially decided that the remaining space would be home to 18 surface parking stalls. These stalls were not nearly enough to accommodate the apartment residents, so the design originally called for costly structured parking under the buildings.
The building owner had seen other automated parking systems around the country but had no experience installing them. VCBO worked with the client and the manufacturer to bring this innovative idea into reality with an APS that fit perfectly into the oddly-shaped space.
The APS was designed as a free-standing, seven-level, self-supporting structure that is only large enough to accommodate the parking system itself. In the space of the original 18 parking stalls, the structure provides 108 parking spaces to apartment residents. This additional parking eliminated a full level of underground parking, which resulted in project savings and made up for the increased upfront costs of the automated parking garage.
Considerations for and Limitations of Automated Parking
Automated parking systems provide a viable solution to the problem of parking in areas with limited space. In the case of Paperbox Lofts, the modular puzzle system was the perfect solution for high-density parking in the long, narrow space available for the structure. The same principle could be applied to many different building plans with similar results.
However, automated parking systems are not a one-size fits all solution to the parking problem. Some projects may favor a more traditional parking method for any number of reasons:
- Cost considerations are a primary deterrent for APS as a parking solution. While the saved space and reduced operational costs of automated parking will likely pay off in the long run, constructing an APS requires a significant upfront investment that may not be feasible for certain projects. The designer and owner should consider the available space and relative real estate value to determine whether an APS is the right and most economical solution.
- While APS technology has improved drastically since its inception, downtime and maintenance remains a concern for some users. If the APS need to be serviced, people may not have access to their vehicles for a time. While this should not necessarily deter designers from exploring APS as a parking option, maintenance availability should be a consideration.
- Because APS is not yet widely adopted, it is possible that designers will face resistance to new technology from governments and users. Many cities may not have addressed the technology in their building codes and regulations, and many users may feel uncomfortable with the idea of an automated system opposed to more familiar, traditional parking structures. Community outreach will be an important factor to build into any plan that includes an automated parking system.
A Better Parking Experience
VCBO’s use of automated parking systems at Paperbox Lofts provided our client at Paperbox Lofts with a solution that saved them valuable construction dollars and provided more usable space. As urban density grows in Salt Lake City and other urban areas around the world, automated parking will become a necessity for anyone looking to make the most of valuable real estate.
VCBO recently integrated an automated parking system into The Zephyr, an eight-story multi-family complex in downtown Salt Lake City. Without the APS, this complex would not have been able to meet parking requirements — meaning either the apartment complex could not have been built or would have had to reduce the number units to match the available parking. Many similar urban sites have sat empty for years because the required amount of parking makes development challenging, if not impossible. Like The Zephyr, those sites now have the potential to become feasible building sites through parking innovation.
About the Contributors
Over her career, Julia has specialized in several project types, including higher education and multi-family housing. Many of Julia’s schools have won national, regional, and local awards. In 2016, Julia came out publicly to her firm as transgender, becoming one of Utah’s first out transgender architects in leadership. She advocates for equitable treatment of all people, both trans and cisgender, and is passionate about creating spaces that allow people to be themselves. For her, architecture works best when it both functions and inspires, creating inviting spaces and communities.