Quote:
Originally Posted by killaviews
Wrigley Field, which is like 2 miles away manages to get 35-40k people in and out of a neighborhood. 4k people won’t be an issue. Uptown is also pretty easy to get to from the Ravenswood Metra stop. The Flats won’t be giving any tenants a space in their garage on Broadway. I’m sure they will rent spaces, which most of their residents probably won’t opt for.
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Where do you get that? I'm sure Cedar Street will advertise secured garage parking even if it is paid and not included with the rent. Average parking utilization for the newest buildings with >10 units, presumably luxury units built at or near 1:1 ratio before the TOD ordinance, was
around 60%. So, in the pool of renters who are paying new construction, luxury rents, 2 out of 3 renters in Chicago have a car and need a place to park it. Now, it's true that some portion of those car owners can be persuaded to give up their car in exchange for living in a prime location near transit, so optimistically maybe we end up with 50% of [new construction] renters in Chicago needing a parking space.*
It also means that, because many of the new rental buildings in the city are built as TOD, there's a whole half of the market that does own cars which is being underserved and presumably there is some amount of pent-up demand for apartments with parking.
With 710 apartments overall in Cedar Street's project, that's approximately 355 spots needed. But the existing garage holds 600 cars, so there should be ample parking spaces at 5050 N Broadway for any resident who wants one, and maybe
some public parking available also.
Don't get me wrong, I think it's a good idea for the city to eliminate parking minimums that raise housing costs needlessly for people who choose not to own cars. This is the case both along rail lines and bus routes. New construction units are usually targeted at the wealthiest Chicagoans, but over time they will filter down to lower strata of society while their increased costs, relative to apartments without parking, will stick around. However, we shouldn't be naive and assume that the majority of Chicagoans who do own cars can somehow be strong-armed into giving them up through the zoning code. People choose to own cars for a variety of very rational reasons, including shorter commutes and increased convenience...
* - this ignores the many renters in small vintage multifamily buildings from 2-flats up to half courtyards that largely park on the street. Also excludes any and all owner-occupied housing, like condos and SFHs, who by virtue of their stronger financial position are more likely to own a car.