Philadelphia's downtown parking lots are a 'valuable, untapped resource'

Philadelphia's Center City has over two dozen parking lots that are being underutilized, writes Inga Saffron in The Philadelphia Inquirer. 

Many of the central surface lots, Saffron writes, were created for the "interim use" of parking, with the intention of later developing them into something else. "Part of what distinguishes Philadelphia is the longevity of its downtown surface lots, said Andrew R. Waxman, a University of Texas professor who studies land use issues. Some have become such fixtures in our daily lives that we’ve given them names, ie. the Disney Hole at Eighth and Market, born 1981."

According to Saffron, parking company owners say they have been trying to transition into development, often with little success. Technically, Philadelphia's zoning code prohibits parking as a permanent use, but renewing permits has become extremely easy and, in many cases, unnecessary, while property taxes on vacant lots remain low. "Fixing that imbalance might nudge some parking lot owners to develop their properties. The city also could impose a limit on the number of licensing renewals a parking lot owner can receive. That would make parking truly an interim use," Saffron explains.