Top 5 Reasons Why Multifamily Developers Need to Design with Sustainable Transportation at the Forefront
July 22, 2024
As I get more involved in helping multifamily developers design how to best provide transportation services and amenities to their prospective and current tenants, it’s important to remind myself and SustainMobility's clients and partners that historical data can only go so far. Transportation data tells an important part of the story in forward looking design, but a developer has many levers it can pull that are in line with local policy changes and consumer trends.
Here are my Top 5 reasons why multifamily developers need to design with more sustainable transportation at the forefront.
#1. Cost: The price per parking space costs a developer $50k-$100k, depending on the location, and have no other choice but to pass those costs on to renters and buyers, reducing the renter/buyer pool. Shifting the amount of space for car parking over to bike parking/micromobility saves money in development.
#2: Parking: There is a massive oversupply of parking in our communities and multifamily developments. The removal of car parking minimums in new developments is helping to right size parking. The hard truth is that parking that is expensive and difficult to find is what actually reduces demand. The space needed for a car to park as compared to a bike is 10 to 1.
#3 Car-light lifestyles: Your tenants want to be able to get around without the hassles and expense of owning a car. Introducing car sharing and investing in quality bike parking, and private fleets of micromobility leads to reduced parking and car ownership demand.
#4 Carbon Impact: Transportation is the #1 emissions producer in the US, and combined with buildings, is more than ⅔ of all emissions. The real estate sector has a crucial, but often hidden role in supporting this reduction, by designing with sustainable mobility from the beginning.
#5 Location: The most sustainable developments are in locations that are not car dependent. When you make an investment to build or rebuild in a walkable, bikeable location with access to transit, it generally translates to a significantly higher value per square foot, and less of your costs are put towards parking.
