Christopher Alan, founder of Auto Parkit, the only automated parking company in the US competitive with traditional parking, spoke with The Planning Report about how his experience as a real estate developer in LA led to a parking opportunity.
Though automated parking structures are not exactly new, San Fernando Valley residential development The Savannahs is the first in Southern California to boast such a facility. The project was the brainchild of LA real estate developer Christopher Alan, who partnered his firm, Dasher Lawless, where he is president, with Omron Automation & Safety, Design Systems Inc., SEW Eurodrive, ConXtech, and others, to create Auto Parkit, the only automated parking company in the nation competitive with traditional parking.
Alan details how his scalable, operator-free, fully-automated, high-density parking system and its potential to reduce emissions and increase safety have drawn interest already. Unlike most automated parking companies, which tend to focus on engineering innovations, Auto Parkit has placed an emphasis on reliability and lifespan. While it may be feasible to replace a cell phone each time a new product is released, automated parking requires fixed costs and investment. In this way, a developer will only be willing to invest if he knows the product is reliable and hassle free.
FULL STORY: Auto Parkit: A Parking Revolution Comes to Urban America
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UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
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Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research