The City of Calgary recently approved a condominium tower downtown that will not have ANY parking stalls for residents. There will be a few parking stalls for visitors. But all of the residents of the building will be humans that don’t own cars. They will, however, own a bicycle and a Car2Go membership, care of the developer.
Much has already been said about this approval in the media but I wanted to add a few comments about parking in our real estate market.
Out of the 1,356 apartment-style condominiums currently listed in Calgary, there are 29 that do not have any parking. So this kind of product already exists, albeit in small numbers. But may I say, not that small? This is over 2%.
Upon closer inspection, some of these 29 units do have parking available for the complex but it might be on a lottery system or operated first-come, first-serve. Others have stalls available for rent when available for a fee. But some simply do not offer parking.
Most of these units are located in the downtown core and all of them are under $400,000, with the lowest being offered at $123,000! Yes, this one is a studio-style suite with just 352 square feet, but it still offers someone a home ownership opportunity at a very attractive price!
I love that this condo building was approved. Because I love Calgarians having CHOICE. Yes, some people have several vehicles and need a large garage – and there is nothing wrong with that. But some Calgarians don’t have a car and never will. And there is nothing wrong with that either.
There are all types of people out there and I think our city should offer a multitude of real estate choices at a wide range of price points. When a builder saves millions of dollars by not building an underground parkade, they pass on some of those savings to the consumer.
In case you were curious, out of the 3,513 single-family listings in Calgary right now:
276 have a single garage (8%)
2,499 have a double garage (71%)
286 have a triple garage (8%)
32 have a quad garage or more (1%)
The other 12% have either carports or no indoor parking.
Out of the houses with quad or larger garages, there is one at $369,900 but the rest are $700K or higher, with the highest at $6.9M!
If you need to upgrade or downgrade your parking space… or your living space… drop me a line and we can find the right fit for you.
