CLEVELAND — If you think parking in Downtown Cleveland has gotten more expensive – you’re right.
Average rates have climbed almost 30% from 2018, according to a new study from Cushman & Wakefield-Cresco Real Estate. But the cost of parking varies widely, from $3 a day to $48 a day, depending on where you are and how far you’re willing to walk.
Many lots and garages are bustling in the heart of the city, but there are plenty of empty parking spaces on the outskirts of the central business district. The report depicts a Downtown where demand is shifting – and development is forcing people to adapt.
Since Cresco last surveyed the landscape six years ago, we’ve lost more than 3,000 parking spaces Downtown. That’s the result of demolitions and new construction, including the future Sherwin-Williams Co. headquarters near Public Square and the recently opened Skyline 776 apartment tower at Euclid Avenue and East Eighth Street.
“People are starting to come back to downtown,” said George Pofok, Jr., the Cresco research analyst who produced the study. “It has kind of revitalized … especially with the new apartments that have been built or that have been turned from offices to apartments, it has brought more people to park Downtown because they’re living there now.”
That’s helping to drive up parking occupancy – and prices – around Tower City and Public Square. That’s one of the places where parking is tightest, along with the Gateway District, home to East Fourth Street, Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse and Progressive Field.
But at the northeast corner of East 13th Street and St. Clair Avenue on Tuesday, all-day parking was still just $6. And there were only a few cars scattered across the lot.
“There are days this will be 100% empty,” said Terry Coyne, whose family has been in the parking business since the 1950s and owns lots across downtown.
Between the rise of remote work and corporate downsizing, everyday demand still hasn't returned to pre-pandemic levels, said Coyne, who works Downtown and is a vice chairman at the Newmark real estate brokerage.
“Overall, with a shrinking office market, there’s shrinking parkers. And you’re seeing the result of it,” he said.
Now, Wednesdays are the busiest days. Tuesdays and Thursdays are just OK, he said. And on Mondays and Fridays, traffic is sparse.
“Where people are parking is closer to their office,” he said. “And they’re paying a premium. In the past, people would walk farther.”
'Great for Downtown Cleveland. Bad for parking.'
The average hourly rate to park in a downtown lot or garage is $9.72, according to the Cresco study. That’s up from $7.25 in 2018.
For daily parking, the average rate is $11.71. That’s up from $9.22 six years ago.
Monthly parking now costs $155 on average. That’s about $36 more than customers were paying in 2018 – or roughly $440 more yearly from a household’s budget.
If you want reserved monthly parking – a dedicated space – the price is even higher.
Based on Cresco’s data, parking prices have risen slightly faster than inflation. Pofok attributed those increases to rising costs, including higher property taxes.
During the pandemic, more parking operators migrated to mobile payment apps and other technology. There are fewer attendants sitting in booths to collect cash. And some lot owners spruced up their properties, repaving and re-striping.
“Filling in potholes,” said Pofok, who visited all the properties in his report. “There were less lots with one or two potholes and more with just maintained, flat surfaces.”
Whatever the cause, Nautica Larkins says the rising cost of parking is just too much.
“It’s overpriced. It’s terrible. It’s not worth it,” said Larkins, who was walking through the Warehouse District on Tuesday with two co-workers.
Larkins works in hospitality, catering weddings, banquets and other events. She pays for her parking, which can cost $30 at some hotels where she works. Early Tuesday, she got a ride to the Public Square area to avoid dealing with parking.
“Uber. Lyft. Get on the Rapid. It’s way cheaper,” Larkins said.
Shainna McLeod, one of her co-workers, also has limits on what she’s willing to pay.
“Five bucks,” she said. “Ten at most. That’s about it.”
And there are plenty of places Downtown where you can find parking at those prices. But they aren’t in the middle of the action.
Kaye Ranke, a lawyer with an office near Public Square, has a monthly parking pass in the Warehouse District. Her costs have gone up slightly. But she hears many complaints from her clients, who need daily or hourly parking for meetings and court hearings.
“I hate coming to your office. I can’t find a place to park. Do you have a place I can park? Do you validate? Those kinds of things,” she said.
The lot where she parked for years is now filled with construction workers building up the city.
“Great for Downtown Cleveland,” Ranke said. “Bad for parking.”
'There's a traffic problem'
Last year, a vehicle subscription company called FINN looked at the monthly cost of parking across major U.S. cities. Cleveland ranked seventh, at $179, just behind San Diego – and ahead of Boston. That’s about $9 daily, if you’re parking Monday through Friday.
Daily and hourly parking can get much more costly. And on special event days – like this coming Saturday when the Guardians are set to start their postseason run at Progressive Field – it’s common to see flat-rate pricing of $40 at many lots and garages.
In 2016, when the team made it to the World Series, News 5 reporters found at least one lot right near the ballpark that was asking $100.
The Cresco study doesn’t focus on event pricing. It also doesn’t look at meters, which the city recently upgraded to allow app-based payments. The report was mainly drawn up to inform commercial real estate agents leasing and selling downtown buildings.
But it shows that, on average, your best bet to find cheap, available parking is at the northeastern end of downtown, in the Erieview district and closer to the lakefront.
That’s where Coyne stood Tuesday, in the middle of a mostly empty lot.
“You know, my dad always said there’s not really a parking problem. There’s a traffic problem,” he said. “So if you just drive a little bit, you can come here for a much lower daily rate. But I think people realize they can park closer to where they’re at – and they’re willing to pay a premium.”
He pointed at a nearby lot that was much busier.
“Look how close people are to this parking lot, and they won’t come here,” he said. “It’s cheaper than that one. That one’s 10 yards close to their office. So it’s behaviors that are driving the market.”
A map produced by Cresco Real Estate shows the locations of lots and garages in the study. Click on the dots to see prices and other details.
