Car culture is changing in California, and changing fast. As one of the most progressive states in the country, California citizens are unsurprisingly the first to adopt electric cars as a primary mode of transportation as the vehicles become more popular and accessible. This trend has only just begun, and is undoubtedly expected to take off in the coming years. As such, any smart investor will be putting their money in electric charging spaces sooner rather than later. Experts at the Bisnow construction and design event in Southern California share insight into upcoming architectural trends among residential properties in big cities.
In any progressive city, sustainability should be at the forefront of your mind, especially for multifamily property owners. Ed Wlodarczyk, Vice President of the PACE Loan Group, expresses the importance of putting an emphasis on energy and sustainability in new developments. He reports that every single deal the loan group makes requires an energy audit. Simply put, the future is green, and the future is now for property investors.
Mark Janda, the Senior Vice President of AvalonBay Communities in Southern California, reports that electric cars are quickly becoming a more common site among city streets, which means charging stations are going to become a hot commodity very soon. AvalonBay is actually considering having EV charging stations in up to 25% of parking spaces in future complexes.
Beyond that, McCullough senior associate Benjamin Arcia is anticipating a reduction in overall required parking spaces, and is designing temporary parking areas in addition to increased EV charging stations. “We designed everything under the parking podium as retail space that’s temporarily occupied by parking. We’re going to remove parking and insert retail modules under these residential buildings as the neighborhood becomes more and more ready for it.”
As a successful rental investor, making versatile and adaptable design choices is one of the best ways to protect your investments and ensure profitable rentals as a city develops. This is why it’s important to look to the future and make progressive design choices ahead of the curve. Incorporating electric vehicles and versatile parking solutions into your architecture is practically essential in this era of California multifamily property, especially in more urban areas.
As many construction projects are being delayed due to complications associated with COVID-19, now is the perfect time to rethink some design choices and adapt new construction projects for the future, looking at the rental market 5 to 10 years from now and what is going to be most important and attractive to future renters.