In what condo world do the parking spaces not have a value or cost money? I added on my second space as an additional cost when I purchased my condo and I could turn around tomorrow and sell it for 20K. I also pay taxes and dues on them. The notion that people just get these spaces as a gift when they buy a condo is ridiculous.Nailed it! If there is no up-front cost to these people, they will just take the car/cars they have and drive them right in without thinking about it. There are some great points being made that this has less to do with "the market" than it does about the direction of this city. These cars will be driving in and out of this building and adding MORE cars to streets in this city is NOT the answer. If this site "has to" have this high of a parking ratio then the floodgates will open.Part of it too is that people are coming into the move with their two cars -- it's not like they are purchasing two cars after they move in. A lot of people feel attached to their vehicle and may not necessarily sell it just because they move someplace where cars aren't as necessary. Wherever they go, the cars go with them.
In a lot of big cities parking spaces are treated more like property than they are treated like amenities. When my folks lived in Lincoln Park in Chicago they had to purchase the rights to the two parking spaces they required for both of their cars, and I want to say that the cost to own the rights to those spaces was like $20K per space! I mean at what point does car ownership become so expensive and such a hassle that it's no longer worth it to have two cars, or even one?
And no, it's not simple or easy or desirable to live downtown with no personal transportation. There are so many great parts of this city that are not easy to get to via public transportation. The people spending money in this type of building are not going to wait at a bus stop when the wind chill is -30 outside.