Parking Secrets Every Commercial Tenant Needs to Know

If you live in Southern California, you know that the perfect parking space is a tiny slice prime real estate when it comes to your business. You also know that depending on your type of business, your clients and customers can always appreciate convenient, or fare free parking when visiting your office building. Most commercial leases will address parking in a specific clause within the contract. Don’t overlook the specific details within this clause. According to the square footage of your rentable space, make sure you critically consider an adequate amount of parking for your clients and employees.In the past, Landlords of commercial buildings would have had to comply to required parking standards, so that the building upon completion could be certified as operational for its potential use.

However, with an ever increasing population growing in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties, parking capacity is becoming all the more strained. According to Daniel Sperling, founding director of the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, Davis “[In California], there are currently about eight cars for every ten people…and the number is rising.” (boomcalifornia.com)   For local commercial real estate markets in Southern California where public transportation is not a main means of commuting, that means office parking will continue to grow more and more scarce.

Our team at Mazirow Commercial,Inc. puts priority on our tenants. And we want to share a couple of insider secrets about parking that can help you get the most benefit to your business when negotiating an office lease.

Parking is Negotiable   Depending on you local market, the costs of parking is negotiable territory with most Landlords. Coming to the table with an experienced tenant representative will give you the leverage and confidence needed to bargain it down. Areas covering allocation, designation, reservations and unassigned spaces fall under costs are all up for negotiation.

Put the Garage or Lot to the Test   Just as you would evaluate the full specs and conditions of your office space or building, give the same due diligence to assessing the parking parameters and/or facilities. Put priority on visitor parking for your potential customers or clients. Convenient parking for them can make or break your business. Also, consider actual time spent from the driver’s seat to the office seat for you and your employees. It’s a common oversight, but these are cumulative minutes during the week that can cost you.