Atlanta`s Free Parking Era Is Ending — And Landlords Are Cashing In

Atlanta’s commercial landlords are putting a new price tag on the city’s long-running love affair with cars.

Landlords have been beset by rising interest rates, construction and insurance costs, and stubbornly high vacancy in recent years. Now many are pushing up parking prices — and converting once-free lots — to prop up their revenues.

“These office buildings, they’re not making money, and that’s the only way to generate income,” Atlanta-based investor and broker Alan Joel said. “And it’s there. The infrastructure is there. The parking is there. It’s a way to get some income without spending a tremendous amount of capital.”

Owners of prime office towers, which are experiencing record availability, have pushed parking rates in their buildings up by 9.2% for reserved spaces and 4.7% for unreserved spaces, according to a 2024 CBRE report...

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RSK: As more development happens in downtown Madison, the less open free parking there will be. It is just a matter of developing an additional revenue stream to offset the rising costs of taxes, upkeep & repair.