From Roeder’s column in the Sun-Times:

NEED PARKING? Yes, there are a lot of unsold condos in the downtown area. But that also means there are unsold parking spaces, and some developers are eager for cash. So the auction firm Rick Levin & Associates Inc. has been hired for a multi-property auction of parking spaces… Most will be sold regardless of price, a sign of seller desperation.

Funny thing is, he mentions buildings where the condos have sold just fine — in particular, 111 E. Chestnut, immediately behind the Escada/H&M/Borders block of Michigan. (Other parking spots have recently sold at 340 W. Superior, 910 W. Madison, and other otherwise successful developments.) Obviously, this means that the unsold parking spaces have no market value, because people living downtown don’t always want to drive downtown.

It’s time to let the market, not outmoded zoning regulations, decide whether residents want parking or not. Each auctioned parking space is a $30,000 hit to the developer — money which could developers could put to much better use by writing down affordable housing or sprucing up sidewalks. Beyond that, even many of the parking spaces that are sold are sold at a substantial discount to the actual construction cost. The new downtown zoning cuts residential parking requirements by up to 45%, but that’s just a start.