Despite being the city with the worst traffic in the US, cars in DC are going the way of the dodo. With an estimated 88% of DC households shunning cars for public transit or bicycles, the city has a number of obsolete or abandoned garages that hang around owners' necks like an albatross. But all these unused garages can become a money maker with one simple change that Bisnow partner Bradyl Storage Solutions can provide: resident storage.
The Math
Bradyl owner Lindsay Steiner (snapped last month with her husband and sons; they raised over $10k as "Team Dylan Dinosaur" at the Food Allergy Research and Education Walk) says the average DC apartment building garage has hundreds of SF of dead space that can be used for storage. And considering that Bradyl’s enclosed storage units can be installed for as low as $550 for a 4x4 unit and have an average rental income of $3 to $4 per SF, you can expect an ROI within six to 18 months, and a sizable profit after that. One of Bradyl’s clients, the Odyssey Condominium, makes more than $20k every year with only 15 storage units installed.
The Twists
While enclosed units are attractive enough to place in a visible area of your garage, there are also several unique twists on the storage concept that should catch your eye. The Urban Storage Unit—which can be stationed above the hood of the cars in your garage—show that parking and storage can form a unique hybrid. And for those hardcore riders who don’t want their pricey Treks and Cannondales in the common bike room, you should consider private bike storage spaces. After all, you don’t want them lugging their bikes through the hallways and scuffing up your elevators.
The Pros and Cons
Resident storage has a ton of appeal, but also some drawbacks to consider. Parking garages, for example, aren’t climate controlled, which may not be what your tenants are looking for if they’re storing their fur coats and Segways. You’ll also need to heavily consider what kind of storage unit to install. For example, not only can everybody see what’s inside a wire mesh unit—making them unattractive to residents and easily cased by thieves—but wire storage units also be expose their contents to dust and exhaust fumes, which can damage your tenants’ costly luxuries.
You also have to ask a very fundamental question: Do your residents have stuff to store? Millennials keep everything on iPhones, iPads, Androids and other electronics, so they might not have much to store (unless they’re hipsters and really into vinyl).
But Lindsay says you can rest easy: 10% of Millennials say they want extra storage space and Baby Boomers and the Silent Generation rank extra storage as their third most-wanted amenity. Students rank storage just as high, and have even stated that they’d be willing to pay $101 more every month for more closet and storage space. And Lindsay says you can always test the waters with just one or two units. Bradyl Storage Solutions’ enclosed storage units are not only aesthetically pleasing, but they also allow you and your tenants to keep everything secret and safe. (Gandalf would be so proud.) And since the units have wire mesh ceilings (shown), the units work with your existing sprinkler system and in old or new buildings.
The Future
The storage revolution has the potential to be a game changer in every step of the process. From design to sales, storage considerations will be on everyone’s mind. If the use of parking garages for storage catches on, we may also see the fall of the storage unit industry, which can open these properties to other developments and electronic storage, which is also seeing a huge boost in demand.
The Appeal
Owners and brokers, do us a favor: take a walk through your property’s parking garage and count off every unused space. Then imagine if that space can bring in thousands of dollars of revenue. If you’d like to take advantage of every SF you have, you should think about converting that space to storage.
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