Parking Might Reduce Tax Revenue

For decades St. Louis has torn down building after building to make room for increasing amounts of parking, our zoning sets minimum parking requirements for most of the city.  Many would argue this is necessary to keep up with the times, but new research discovers this may result in negative consequences:

“In the ’50s and ’60s, cities did things like subsidize garage parking, and they condemned buildings so the lots could be used for parking,” says Norman Garrick, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Connecticut. Many, he adds, still require a minimal number of parking spots to be added for each new development. But it turns out that all the parking doesn’t pay off.

A pair of forthcoming studies by Garrick and several of his UConn colleagues examine the economic and sociological impacts of parking trends in six U.S. cities from 1960 to 2000. They conclude that some car-centric cities forfeit more than a thousand dollars per parking space per year in potential municipal revenues by using land for parking rather than more lucrative alternatives. The researchers also found that minimum parking requirements inhibit development and exacerbate traffic by placing incentives on car use rather than on walking and cycling. (Businessweek: American Cities Are Haunted by Too Many Parking Spaces)

I’ve download the studies from the 2014 Transportation Research Board’s 93rd annual meeting, but I haven’t had a chance to read the full list yet. I’ve scanned the paper referenced above, the title is:

THE EFFECTS OF URBAN FABRIC CHANGES ON REAL ESTATE PROPERTY TAX 2 REVENUE: EVIDENCE FROM SIX AMERICAN CITIES

The conclusion was “a substantial consequence of parking consuming a large proportion of land in cities is the loss of significant amounts of potential tax revenue.”

— Steve Patterson

St. Louis Businessman Paul J. Wielandy Born 150 Years Ago Today

You’re asking yourself, “Who was Paul Wielandy?” The 1906 book titled “The Book of St. Louisans: A Biographical Dictionary of Leading Living Men of the City of St. Louis and Vicinity” tells us about Paul J. Wielandy:

WIELANDY, Paul J., books and stationary; born Jefferson City, Mo., June 5, 1864; son of John F. and Junigunde (Wagner) Wielandy; educated in St. Louis public schools; married, St. Louis, June 28, 1904, Louise Angermueller. Entered employ of Shorb & Boland, wholesale booksellers and stationers, 1879; travelled for John L. Boland, successor of Shorb & Boland, in Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. 1884-1901; in Jan., 1902, with A. M. Blackwell, of Las Vegas, N. M., organized the Blackwell-Wielandy Book and Stationary Co., of St. Louis, Mo., importers of jobbers of books, stationary, fancy goods, etc., of which is vice-president. Republican. Protestant. 32º Mason. Knight Templar. Club: Mercantile. Favorite recreations: fishing and hunting. Office: 714-720 Washington Ave. Residence: 2928 Harper St.   (pages 610-611)

His business address of 714-720 Washington Ave is now the site of the US Bank Tower, formerly Mercantile Bank. In 1907, the firm Wielandy used to work for, built a new warehouse at 1601 Locust:

In 1910, the Boland company was acquired by the Blackwell-Wielandy Book & Stationery Company which moved into the 16th and Locust building from their head quarters at 714-20 Washington Avenue. One of the founders of Blackwell-Wielandy, St. Louisan Paul J. Wielandy, formerly had been employed for twenty years as a sales man for Boland. During his pioneering years as Boland’s representative in the Southwest, Wielandy met Missouri-born Arthur M. Blackwell who by then, was a successful merchant and bank director in New Mexico. In 1901, the two men returned to St. Louis where they established the firm bearing their names. Among the innovative new products first manufactured by Blackwell-Wielandy around 1912 were an adjustable ring device for loose leaf notebooks and the Blue Jay writing tablet — both popular items with the school trade. The Blue Jay brand was later extended to other supplies such as ink, crayons, paste aid composition and notebooks. (source)

Let’s take a look:

The building with the red wall, above, was built in 1919 as an annex to their original building. Within the last decade the annex was converted to condos, I’ve lived here since November 2007.  The original was wood framed, the annex has a concrete interior structure.

Paul J. Wielandy died on March 4, 1953, two months before his 89th birthday (death certificate), he’s buried at Saint Peter’s Cemetery in Normandy (find-a-grave entry).  According to the bio he was “a director of the Municipal Opera Association & of the St. Louis Safety Council & was a member of the first Highway Commission.”  I need to research when Jefferson Ave was straightened out, widened, and connected to Natural Bridge, just blocks from Wielandy’s home, no doubt he supported the idea, making his drive to work on Locust St easier.

— Steve Patterson

Readers: Stocks & Mutual Funds Better Long-Term Investments Than Real Estate

Readers who voted in the non-scientific poll last week differ from  those who took a recent Gallop poll, their summary:

This year, the housing market has been improving across the U.S., and home prices have recently been rising after a steep drop in 2007 during the subprime mortgage crisis. This current improvement in prices may be why more Americans now consider real estate the best option for long-term investments. In 2002, during the real estate boom that preceded the mortgage crisis and before gold was offered as an option in the question, half of Americans said real estate was the best investment choice.

Stock values have also been improving in recent years, aided particularly by the bull market in 2013. The 24% of Americans who regard stocks as the best long-term investment is also higher now, up from 19% in 2012. Still, Americans are modestly more likely to say real estate is the better investment today, perhaps because of the recent volatility in the stock market.

So right now Americans think real estate in the best long-term investment.  Here are the results from readers:.

Q: Which of the following do you think is the best long-term investment?

1. Stocks 27 [35.06%]
2. Mutual funds 26 [33.77%]
3. Real estate 15 [19.48%]
4. Savings accounts/CDs 4 [5.19%]
5. Gold 3 [3.9%]
6. Bonds 2 [2.6%]

Real estate trailed in third.  History isn’t on the side of home ownership as a means of long-term investing:

From 1890 — just three decades after the Civil War — through 2012, home prices adjusted for inflation literally went nowhere. Not a single dime of real growth. For comparison, the S&P 500 increased more than 2,000-fold during that period, adjusted for inflation. And from 1890 to through 1980, real home prices actually declined by about 10%. (USA Today: Why your home is not a good investment)

There are plenty of reasons to buy a home, but a long-term investment isn’t one of them, especially if you’re black:

Home ownership has been an important vehicle in creating a solid white middle class, but it has not done the same for most black homeowners, because blacks and whites buy homes in very different neighborhoods. Research shows that homes in majority black neighborhoods do not appreciate as much as homes in overwhelmingly white neighborhoods. This appreciation gap begins whenever a neighborhood is more than 10% black, and it increases right along with the percentage of black homeowners. Yet most blacks decide to live in majority minority neighborhoods, while most whites live in overwhelmingly white neighborhoods. (Forbes: How Home Ownership Keeps Blacks Poorer Than Whites)

The young are cautious about buying:

Young people have delayed life decisions, including moving for jobs, forming households, getting married and having children, said Peter Francese, an independent demographer and consultant in Exeter, New Hampshire.

“There is a lack of belief that there is something better in another state,” he said.

Slower household formation is lowering home ownership. Just 36.2% of Americans under 35 owned a home in the first quarter, compared with 41.3% in 2008’s first quarter, the Census Bureau reported April 29. (Financial Post: Young and unwilling to relocate: How Millennials may be holding back the U.S. labour and housing recovery)

Many in St. Louis still push for owner-occupied redevelopment, even though rental housing appears to be in greater demand for the foreseeable future.  Besides the young, Baby Boomers entering retirement are faced with being home owners or renters:

• US News & World Report: 10 Reasons to Become a Renter in Retirement
• MarketWatch: When it’s better to rent a home in retirement
• Forbes: Should You Rent Or Buy A Home In Retirement?

Hopefully in the coming years those who rent housing won’t have the negative stigma expressed by home owners. I know many renters who are active in their neighborhoods.

— Steve Patterson

Chicago’s Taxicabs More Interesting Than St. Louis’ Taxicabs

In a recent post I wondered if local taxicabs could be more whimsical to compete with the likes of Lyft, Uber, etc.  It’s true nobody hires a vehicle because of a pink mustache, but they’re distinctive. This past weekend we were in Chicago for a few days. We drove up and parked in the garage of the condo building where we stayed — $84 for 48 hours with no in/out privileges. We walked and used the bus but we also took four cab rides. Taxicabs are everywhere in Chicago, no need to call and walk — just walk to the street and hail one. At least where we were staying.

Of the hundreds & hundreds of taxicabs we saw, I think only 1-2 were the Ford Crown Victoria that’s so commonplace in St. Louis. No wonder really, the last Crown Vic was produced in September 2011. Though large vehicles, they’re not any easier for me to get in/out of the backseat than any other 4-door.

Of our four trips three of the four were in hybrids: Toyota Camry, Toyota Prius, and Ford C-Max. The fourth was a black town car that stopped for us. The most common taxicab vehicle was saw while in Chicago was the Toyota Prius. We also saw Ford Fusion Hybrid & Nissan Altima Hybrid. We saw quite a few of the modern/stylish VPG MV-1:

The styling looks like an SUV-ish riff on the traditional London cab, with a low-step-in (or roll aboard) flat floor and oodles of headroom. Dimensionally, it measures 8.0 inches shorter in length, 2.1 inches wider, and 18.2 inches taller than the Crown Vic. The rear doors swing open (90 degrees on the passenger side) to reveal a bench seat wide enough for three amply proportioned passengers. An optional ($349) rear-facing jump seat behind the driver accommodates a fourth, and standard anchoring plates are fitted to secure two wheelchairs, though locking down the second one precludes use of the right half of the bench seat. There is currently no provision for fitting a front passenger seat, though one is being considered, along with a passenger airbag. (Motor Trend)

I want to ride in one of these on our next visit in a few months.

It isn’t by chance that Chicago has so many hybrids, their approved vehicle list is either hybrids or CNG. Other creative taxicab examples in Chicago is using social media and free wifi:

In addition to tweeting, he also allows clients (or potential clients, as the case may be) to follow him on Google Latitude or Find My Friends so that people know wherever he is at any given time and can contact him when they need a ride. He offers free WiFi within his cab for iPhone and iPad users (“Don’t use your limited data!” he says), and plans to soon offer free WiFi for regular laptop users. Sometimes, as seen in the tweet above, Temuri gives discounts for his social media followers, and he always remembers who everyone is. (ArsTechnica)

The St. Louis Metropolitan Taxicab Commission doesn’t appear to have an approved vehicle list. I know St. Louis is a conservative town but more regulation to push taxicab companies into buying hybrid vehicles would likely prove better for the industry, the companies bottom line, and our air quality.

— Steve Pattersom

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Neighborhood Retail In Older Suburbs

Driving around the inner ring suburb of Overland recently I was struck at the number of corner retail buildings adjacent to the residential streets. Unlike more recent suburbs, where retail is miles away from housing, these were very close. End of street close. Today when we think of retailing in the suburbs it’s easy to assume it was always big boxes or enclosed mall, but like the inner city, it started off with stores within walking distance.

This is far different than the 1960s subdivision in Oklahoma City where I grew up. The 1960s subdivisions I’ve seen here are very similar, by that time commercial development was further away  and with lots more parking than these examples. Suburbs & their subdivision development seemed to continue on this trajectory, except for New Urbanist developments like New Town St. Charles.

— Steve Patterson