What do you do with a large parking lot when you convert property?

Conversions are a great way to get into the self-storage market. However, when you are converting a retail property you may find yourself stuck with a large parking lot because of city requirements for parking. This gives you a great opportunity to turn this land into something profitable for you.

If you leave a giant parking lot, you will look like you are a big vacant building, and no one is going to know that you are a brand new self-storage facility. There are so many options for that parking lot. This is a great way to increase your profits and draw attention to your self-storage facility.

The first option is to turn it into a large RV and boat storage area, if you are in an area with a lot of recreational activities and there is a demand for recreational self-storage. This is the simplest solution. The lot is already paved, you simply need to arrange it the way that is best suited for maximum parking space. Now your vacant parking lot is generating income.

Another option is to subdivide off the parking lot and sell it. We can be creative with our parking. We don’t need a large lot. We can place spaces around the facility. We are rarely going to have more than a handful of clients at our self-storage facility at any given time.

Another option is to bring in portable storage units. Portable storage is an interesting way to get around city zoning regulations. They are portable and so city zoning regulations often don’t apply to them. The fact that you don’t have any intention of moving them is irrelevant. This is a way to quickly expand your self-storage into your parking lot without a lot of construction mess and usually at a less expensive cost.

Another option is to rent out the space to a fast food company. Many fast food places do not own the land that they build their building on. This is true of other types of companies like pharmacies. They will come in and negotiate a long-term lease for the land, build their building and then run their business. At the end of the lease period, you still own the land which now has a rentable building on it.

If you are going to lease the space in front of your self-storage facility, make sure that it is something that will help attract business to your facility and that you will still have visibility. If you put in a strip mall or another large structure, it will completely erase your visibility, and no one will know that you exist. Find a balance between a business that brings in customers without blocking all of your frontage.

Don’t waste a large parking lot. The parking lot can help you defray some of your purchase costs if you subdivide or bring in more cashflow if you keep it. There are too many opportunities to turn a parking lot into a cash generating opportunity. Have fun with it, and as always, happy investing.