COMMENT OF THE DAY RUNNER-UP: WHAT RETAILERS WANT, IF THEY CAN GET IT “I do this for a living. Tenants of any magnitude want that parking field in the front. Parking in the rear means liability, and the potential to thwart customers when they don’t see ‘rockstar’ parking. they want as few trees as possible, and the landscaping/irrigation systems to be as lean as possible. they want maximum street signage and building logo signage. the good news is there’s a solution for all of this. land price. it dictates EVERYTHING without one bit of regulation. when land is expensive, the ability to do things with a piece of dirt becomes cost prohibitive . . . and the market will figure it out.” [HTX REZ, commenting on Comment of the Day: Why There’s No ‘Parking in Back’ Requirement]
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And safety!! Some posters have correctly noted that most shoppers going to retail stores are women and oftentimes with children in tow. Last thing they want is to get mugged in a store parking lot. Houston crime is really bad so IMO safety is a large part of the economics of real estate. Personally I shop online and buy most things I need from amazon.com, much more convenient for me.
I love trees in a parking lot!–it’s hotter than hell and it’s nice to park under a tree (I can deal with the bird issues) and I appreciate lots of landscaping in the parking lot and yes, it’s nice to park in the front, but it’s not a necessity–as far as land values dictating–yes
Why is it safer to cross a parking lot in front of a store than to cross a parking lot behind a store?
If our choices are get run over by cars careening through front parking lots or get mugged in rear parking lots, our future is bleak. Fortunately, I’ve never had an issue with the latter.
Back parking at the Firkin & Pheonix seems to work pretty good with no issues… uh and how about Paulies…
It is safer to cross a front parking lot because it is more exposed to the street and to those in the store. You may not feel this way, but I know several women who have been assaulted in rear parking areas.
Of course being over 6′ and 200+ pounds this isn’t a problem for me, but I hav’t been jumped since jr. high school and I don’t assume my experience is universal.