I used Turo for the first time this evening. For those of you who aren’t familiar, Turo is like Airbnb, but for cars. It connects people who have cars with people who need rental cars. Here is a photo of ours at SLC:

The pickup was perfectly seamless. I got a text from an alleged human the day before. It said that they would leave the car on the second level of the parking garage next to baggage claim. And that I would get more precise instructions -- such as where the key will be -- after it was parked there.

I was also told that there would be a small charge to pay in order to exit the garage. And that the charge would obviously depend on how quickly I retrieve the car after they park it. In my case it ended up being US$10, but we also stopped for food on the way.

Overall, I’d say the pickup experience was easier and faster than your typical rental car. The car was as advertised. And thankfully, it was also there waiting for us. The two standout features for me are probably: (1) It was cheaper and (2) you get to pick your exact car. 

This second one is important because sometimes you need a rental car so that you can drive it into a snow-covered canyon. And when faced with this situation, it can be helpful to know exactly what you’ll be getting — right down to the type of tires.

This is perhaps the wrong post to be writing right now with gas prices where they are, but lately I've been thinking about parking garage designs. We have talked a lot about parking minimums and other related topics on this blog, but let's put all of these aside for today and assume that parking garages are a thing that will continue to exist in our cities.

Generally speaking, parking garages are fairly utilitarian spaces. They store cars and they usually aren't that nice. And in the case of public garages, they often smell like urine. But there are some extraordinary examples out there. Miami immediately comes to mind as a city with some pretty cool garages. I mean, when you have one designed by Herzog & de Meuron (1111 Lincoln Road) that is usually a pretty good indicator.

When I was there in January, we went walking one night through the Design District and we ended up on the roof of "Museum Garage" to take some photos and take in the views. Once we got there, we found people doing everything from eating dinner to filming TikTok videos. Great spaces attract people. It also helps when all of your parking is above-grade, which is the case in Miami.

Here is another example from Sydney (also pictured above). In this case, it's a residential parking garage and Craig & Karl were hired to create a colorful geometric mural. Garages are a perfect place to be a bit more playful and have some fun. I think we should do more of this.

Photo via Craig & Karl

The German investment fund Bayerische Versorgungskammer (BVK) has just closed on the Herzog & de Meuron-designed mixed-use parking garage / event space at 1111 Lincoln in Miami Beach. 

They paid USD$283 million or $1,932 per square foot. It’s one of the biggest deals ever on Lincoln Road.

The complex includes 94,488 square feet of office, 51,839 square feet of retail, and a 300 stall parking garage / event space (people get married in this garage). The sale also includes retail space at 1664-1664 Lenox Avenue, but excludes two new residential units according to The Real Deal. I’m assuming it is these two.

The seller was developer Robert Wennett, who bought the site – existing office building + surface parking lot – in 2005 for $23.5 million. He then spent $65 million on the widely celebrated HdM garage and built himself a penthouse residence on top if it.

I am very curious to know the cap rate. But it would also be interesting to try and figure out what sort of premium could attributed to the fact that this is a pretty famous complex designed by HdM.

The Wall Street Journal once wrote that several hundred people walk into this parking garage every single day just to look around. I have been one of those humans on many many occasions. See above photo.

For more photos of 1111 Lincoln, click here.

I used Turo for the first time this evening. For those of you who aren’t familiar, Turo is like Airbnb, but for cars. It connects people who have cars with people who need rental cars. Here is a photo of ours at SLC:

The pickup was perfectly seamless. I got a text from an alleged human the day before. It said that they would leave the car on the second level of the parking garage next to baggage claim. And that I would get more precise instructions -- such as where the key will be -- after it was parked there.

I was also told that there would be a small charge to pay in order to exit the garage. And that the charge would obviously depend on how quickly I retrieve the car after they park it. In my case it ended up being US$10, but we also stopped for food on the way.

Overall, I’d say the pickup experience was easier and faster than your typical rental car. The car was as advertised. And thankfully, it was also there waiting for us. The two standout features for me are probably: (1) It was cheaper and (2) you get to pick your exact car. 

This second one is important because sometimes you need a rental car so that you can drive it into a snow-covered canyon. And when faced with this situation, it can be helpful to know exactly what you’ll be getting — right down to the type of tires.

This is perhaps the wrong post to be writing right now with gas prices where they are, but lately I've been thinking about parking garage designs. We have talked a lot about parking minimums and other related topics on this blog, but let's put all of these aside for today and assume that parking garages are a thing that will continue to exist in our cities.

Generally speaking, parking garages are fairly utilitarian spaces. They store cars and they usually aren't that nice. And in the case of public garages, they often smell like urine. But there are some extraordinary examples out there. Miami immediately comes to mind as a city with some pretty cool garages. I mean, when you have one designed by Herzog & de Meuron (1111 Lincoln Road) that is usually a pretty good indicator.

When I was there in January, we went walking one night through the Design District and we ended up on the roof of "Museum Garage" to take some photos and take in the views. Once we got there, we found people doing everything from eating dinner to filming TikTok videos. Great spaces attract people. It also helps when all of your parking is above-grade, which is the case in Miami.

Here is another example from Sydney (also pictured above). In this case, it's a residential parking garage and Craig & Karl were hired to create a colorful geometric mural. Garages are a perfect place to be a bit more playful and have some fun. I think we should do more of this.

Photo via Craig & Karl

The German investment fund Bayerische Versorgungskammer (BVK) has just closed on the Herzog & de Meuron-designed mixed-use parking garage / event space at 1111 Lincoln in Miami Beach. 

They paid USD$283 million or $1,932 per square foot. It’s one of the biggest deals ever on Lincoln Road.

The complex includes 94,488 square feet of office, 51,839 square feet of retail, and a 300 stall parking garage / event space (people get married in this garage). The sale also includes retail space at 1664-1664 Lenox Avenue, but excludes two new residential units according to The Real Deal. I’m assuming it is these two.

The seller was developer Robert Wennett, who bought the site – existing office building + surface parking lot – in 2005 for $23.5 million. He then spent $65 million on the widely celebrated HdM garage and built himself a penthouse residence on top if it.

I am very curious to know the cap rate. But it would also be interesting to try and figure out what sort of premium could attributed to the fact that this is a pretty famous complex designed by HdM.

The Wall Street Journal once wrote that several hundred people walk into this parking garage every single day just to look around. I have been one of those humans on many many occasions. See above photo.

For more photos of 1111 Lincoln, click here.