DTD | Parking

[quietthings]

Hey all, I'm posting this thread because I have some questions about the parking lots downtown. I've read in a couple of different articles that the owners of most of the lots are unreasonable on the price when approached about a possible sale. How much do you think one of these (http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Dallas,+Texas&ll=32.780735,-96.792367&spn=0.002832,0.00618&t=k&z=18) lots would be "worth" to the owner if someone wanted to buy them up? It really makes me sad to see the east end of DT covered up with the things. I think that side of DT could be amazing if those lots could be developed into low rise residential/shops/restaurants. Also, sorry if this is not the appropriate forum, please move it if it's not.

[CasperITL]

Many are owned by REITs and Trusts. They make their nut every month to cover expenses and show a profit. That is all that matters to them when it comes down to the bottom line. They have an auto-pilot hands off approach to whatever happens on their lot. Many are owned by corporations thousands of miles away. Or even foreign.

Really does not even have anything to do with the parking companies either. They are merely paid a management fee to operate the space.

[NThomas]

You're going to see more rehabs than new construction in DTD for probably a good decade. The sheer volume of sqft that can be converted into residential and not renovated into class A office space will meet the supply for condos that can be built inside the loop. A building sometimes is easier to work with rather then what looks like an empty lot.

Some of those blocks are divided up between almost a dozen different owners. Developers would much rather work with a single parcel and not battle various owners for an overpriced piece of land.

When projects like the Mercantile Continental Building, Mercantile Commerce Building, Dallas Gas Company and Lone Star Gas block and renovation (probably replacement) of the Stadler Hilton/Old Library block are finished and converted into residential, developers will have no choice but to buy up those little portions of parking lots if they want to have projects in DTD because there will be no other opportunities.

I wouldn't expect to see anything happen to those blocks (like what your talking about) until sometime in the 2030s.

[dfwcre8tive]

The Downtown 360 Area Plan tries to address this issue as well. Rezoning some of those lots to a lesser density or providing incentives for TOD may encourage owners who are sitting on the land to sell or develop.

[dmorg12345]

They should put a property tax on surface lots that makes this practice unprofitable. So we would have a couple garages built to not lose the number of spaces downtown and then developers, not speculators, will own the land.

[torycronin]

They should put a property tax on surface lots that makes this practice unprofitable. So we would have a couple garages built to not lose the number of spaces downtown and then developers, not speculators, will own the land.

Why not raise the property tax on all the properties that house the trashy bars? Where does it end? The parking lot owners are lawful property owners. As long as they pay the property tax assessed and maintain their properties to code, the county should leave them be. If someone wants the properties bad enough, they will offer the right amount of money. Clearly, based on the number of lots around downtown, the demand on the part of developers is simply not there. Until it is, these property owners have every right to wait for the right price and not have their property tax artificially raised.

[dmorg12345]

Taxes are used to influence peoples behavior all the time. So you don't really make a point there. Where does it end? I am not sure.

These speculators are artificially driving up the cost of land. This is making projects that could be profitable, not profitable.This is keeping Dallas from gaining that critical mass.

[mjblazin]

I thought our state constitution strictly forebade differential property taxes based on usage. Appraisals are supposed to be neutral regarding good or bad usage. Cities can provide after appraisal credits to selected properties, but cannot mess with appraisal or the tax rate. If a city does not want usage of a kind, it has zoning powers.

[SeriousSummer]

I think a more detailed discussion of how property, especially downtown, is appraised is an important topic for discussion. I'm sure many of you know that appraisers commonly use three approaches to determining the value of a property:

1. Cost
2. Income
3. Comparable properties

Cost doesn't really matter for a parking lot--no building to figure out what it would cost to replace and the lots were bought long ago at a low price.

Comparables are few and far between, because there are not that many downtown property sales.

Income approach is what parking lot owners favor. After all, it's a parking lot and doesn't make that much income. That's why you can operate a property as a parking lot for a very long time and pay very low taxes, then all of a sudden (it seems) when somebody is finally ready to develop the propety, its value goes through the roof.

A change to the appraisal rules that forced properties to be valued differently would do a great deal to encourage property uses other than as surface parking lots.

[gshelton91]

/\ I want to vote this as the best post of the new year!

Informative, shows reason and makes a proposal without degrading anyone else posting.

[MarkL2023]

~$25 psf.