Parking Garage At 1311 Louisiana St.

[monarch]

^^^ nice looking place!

[Twinsanity02]

I agree subdude. That would have been ideal

[Sparrow]

 

 

 

Q: So what becomes of this in say, 15-20 years or so, when we all take a self-driving Uber everywhere, and no one has a need to own a personal vehicle any longer? Can a garage such as this be converted to anything, or will it inevitably have a date with the wrecking ball? Are we in the midst of the peak of parking garage glory days?

Edited January 6, 2016 by Sparrow

[HtownWxBoy]

Q: So what becomes of this in say, 15-20 years or so, when we all take a self-driving Uber everywhere, and no one has a need to own a personal vehicle any longer? Can a garage such as this be converted to anything, or will it inevitably have a date with the wrecking ball? Are we in the midst of the peak of parking garage glory days?

 

I think as long as you have people driving in from further outside the city (where it's cheaper to drive a car than use Uber) you'll still need parking garages. 

[HoustonIsHome]

I think we have just begun to see parking garage construction.

We have gained net parking, but we will also be getting more residents and more jobs will follow, which means more required parking until it levels out and downtown residents feel more comfortable not owning cars.

I think we need like 10 to 20 more of these 15+ storey garages scattered around downtown to make it easier on new construction. That would have the added benefit of making surface parking less lucrative.

[Texasota]

How does that make it easier on new construction? Every new building under construction includes multiple new levels of parking. 

 

Yes, there are new residents, but they are getting their own dedicated parking spaces in brand new garages, and I can't imagine they are driving much of anywhere within downtown. 

[HoustonIsHome]

How does that make it easier on new construction? Every new building under construction includes multiple new levels of parking.

Yes, there are new residents, but they are getting their own dedicated parking spaces in brand new garages, and I can't imagine they are driving much of anywhere within downtown.

It's easier because they could purchase parking contracts to satisfy city requirements instead of building it's own.

Also, people who live downtown still have cars. You say you can't imagine them driving much downtown, but you do know they leave downtown too right? Downtown residents do drive. So they do need places to park their car.

[cloud713]

Which as he pointed out... Is in the garages provided with the new developments.

Would there have to be an alteration to the local parking space requirement code that requires a certain amount of parking spaces per development, or would them "leasing out" spaces from one of these suggested standalone garages elsewhere count towards the total parking spaces for the requirements?

The city would probably expect some kind of return on the garages (crazy idea, huh?), meaning the developer or HOA would have to essentially rent out the required parking spaces for as long as their development remains.. 50 years? At $10 a day (conservative estimate for downtown parking rates when you factor in overnight parking), a development with 300 residential units (seems to be about average for downtown) would have to fork over $55 million dollars over that 50 year time table, JUST to pay for parking (that's not even part of the development). How much does a pre fab garage cost to build, a la SkyHouse? I know an entire SkyHouse development costs around 60 million. The choice seems clear, but just in case its not...

People would likely have to walk multiple blocks to get to their car with your idea. Not ideal in bad weather, or when you're carrying groceries/loading unloading stuff from your car to take up to your unit.

Do you like the convenience of parking in your own garage/driveway, or would you rather leave your car at a park n ride down the street?

Not to mention if the garage is under the structure, the building ends up being taller, and we save a good bit of real estate (10-20 blocks by your count) left for future developments..

I don't mean to completely blow your idea out of the water (I just realized how long my post was, lol).. I agree a few more public garages could be needed in key areas of downtown, like the one they plan to build along the retail district, but to say we should dedicate 10-20 square blocks of downtown into 16 story parking garages just seems like a huge waste of space and a great way to reduce the potential of downtown.

Edited January 11, 2016 by cloud713

[HoustonIsHome]

Lol, this works in cities everywhere, I swear you guys act like things work different in Houston from everywhere else

Edited January 11, 2016 by HoustonIsHome

[HoustonIsHome]

And who said anything about setting aside 10 to 20 square blocks.

I said 10 to 20 of those 16 floor garages scattered around downtown.

Having the space for development is good, but I would rather all those surface lots to be garages than empty lots.

[cloud713]

Lol, this works in cities everywhere, I swear you guys act like things work different in Houston from everywhere else

 

Umm.. Things in Houston do kind of work differently than everywhere else.

And who said anything about setting aside 10 to 20 square blocks.

I said 10 to 20 of those 16 floor garages scattered around downtown.

Having the space for development is good, but I would rather all those surface lots to be garages than empty lots.

Oh yeah, the garage is only a half block, so 5-10 full blocks. Maybe this will better put things into perspective for you.. This garage houses 1,600 cars.. 20 garages would mean 32,000 more parking spaces in downtown... and yeah. I would still rather wait until a new residential tower/hotel/whatever pops up than settle for a prefabbed parking garage.

[HoustonIsHome]

That is what you would rather, but I would rather the lots housed a more functional garage then if residential space is needed then that goes on top of the garage or get rid of the garage completely and build the residential, but in the meantime, a garage with retail at the bttm in my view is a 100% better than a surface lot.

And no, Houston is no different from DFW, or any other large post automobile metro. It works all the same.

At this point you are just poking holes for personal tastes. So a tenant has to walk a couple blocks. So what? Not optimal but it is not like 2 miles

Edited January 11, 2016 by HoustonIsHome

[Texasota]

Again, all of the new tenants have parking spaces in dedicated garages. Who would these new, separate garages be for? 

[Texasota]

Houston IS unique in that even the historic buildings being renovated into apartments are getting garages. The Rice Hotel got a garage, the Texaco building is getting a garage, and the Great Southwest building also has a garage proposed. 

Other cities with more historic (pre- WWII) building stock are more likely to end up with renovated buildings with little or no dedicated parking, but that just isn't happening here.

[adr]

Again, all of the new tenants have parking spaces in dedicated garages. Who would these new, separate garages be for? 

From a business owner perspective, these garages are important for two groups:  Customers and Employees.  Each new restaurant, shop and bar that opens is going to draw more folks to the area - and draw them at the same time.  Downtown's on-street parking is increasingly tight, and not just during peak nightlife hours.  My business leases a dedicated spot, the monthly cost of which has doubled in the past six months.  Most of downtown metered parking is only for three hour chunks during the day, which means they aren't an option for someone coming in to work a shift, or to spend the afternoon and evening shopping, dining and drinking. On New Years the surface lots across from my business were charging $20. Its even worse for major events around Minute Maid and Toyota Center.  More parking facilities will have a downward pressure on pricing, or at the very least keep it from getting further out of hand. 

[infinite_jim]

[HoustonIsHome]

From a business owner perspective, these garages are important for two groups: Customers and Employees. Each new restaurant, shop and bar that opens is going to draw more folks to the area - and draw them at the same time. Downtown's on-street parking is increasingly tight, and not just during peak nightlife hours. My business leases a dedicated spot, the monthly cost of which has doubled in the past six months. Most of downtown metered parking is only for three hour chunks during the day, which means they aren't an option for someone coming in to work a shift, or to spend the afternoon and evening shopping, dining and drinking. On New Years the surface lots across from my business were charging $20. Its even worse for major events around Minute Maid and Toyota Center. More parking facilities will have a downward pressure on pricing, or at the very least keep it from getting further out of hand.

And that is exactly what I was saying before they jumped on my opinion.

Downtown's need for parking is gong to increase before it levels out and then hopefully decreases.

Let's say downtown had 100,000 lots and 150, 000 workers. Now let's assume 50,000 commute by PT and 100,000 drive. So we are even on parking.

Now, we take 10 surface lots that housed 100 parking spots out of the picture to build residential with 500 space parking garages. On first glance you would say that that is a net gain of 4000 spots as 1000 was lost and 5000 gained, but if you look at it deeper it may end up being a net loss.

Remember those 5000 spots are taken from the public relm that was most probably 0 residential and 100 percent commercial to the exact opposite. Let's face it. People are living downtown and working midtown. People are living downtown and not working at all.

The scenario also doesn't take into account a growth in net downtown workers.

So yes, the parking in downtown have been increasing, but in the last year or two the net change has been more in favor of residential parking. And until downtown becomes more self sufficient the need for these structures will be high.

When it gets to the point where all you need is a short train ride or walk away then we will see a rise in downtown population, a decrease in workers who commute, and an increase in those comfortable enough to live without a car.

This will cause a plateau in construction of new garages and then a decrease. Some may even be demolished and not rebuilt as demand for other uses surpasses that of parking.

The freedom driving gives you though is too tempting to give up. I am very comfortable predicting that the Lions share of residents won't give up driving totally, but the percentage who will will increase greatly in the coming years.

[BeerNut]

We need more parking garages with GFR and the option to build residential or commercial on top at a later date.

[mollusk]

Most of downtown metered parking is only for three hour chunks during the day, which means they aren't an option for someone coming in to work a shift, or to spend the afternoon and evening shopping, dining and drinking. 

 

That's kind of the idea.  This is a big city - meters are for people just doing a quick in and out thing.  Frankly, it's a bit surprising that they still shut off at 6 pm.

[HoustonIsHome]

We need more parking garages with GFR and the option to build residential or commercial on top at a later date.

That's what I said and got shot down

[cloud713]

That's what I said and got shot down

You didn't mention any option of building a tower on top of the garages at a later date in your original suggestion. You suggested plopping 16 story parking garages on 10 full blocks of downtown.

[lockmat]

Retail Brochure

http://ucr.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/1311-Lousiana-Retail-brochure.pdf