New parking lot going condo at Metra station

Commuters spend years stuck on waiting lists to get a parking permit for some Metra station lots, but for those willing to shell out a premium to buy their own spot -- about $9,000 -- the wait in Naperville could be over in a few weeks.

[next]

what recession?

[Jeff]

Prices for parking spots in downtown condo buildings are $30k and up. This is cheap.

[Jim]

Nine grand?!
Hey, I have a spot in Lisle that I waited SIX YEARS for. I'll scrape off my little sticker and give it to you for a mere $8000.:-)

[Doris M]

That's highway robbery, and the government really should step in and do something. People have a right to go to and from work without being ripped off by a PRIVATE developer who has no business meddling in the PUBLIC transportation system anyway.

[Raperville idiots]

Thanks for NOT building a parking garage

You third world hacks

[Howie]

Doris M wrote:

That's highway robbery, and the government really should step in and do something. People have a right to go to and from work without being ripped off by a PRIVATE developer who has no business meddling in the PUBLIC transportation system anyway.

What the???? The developer is going to buy land, build a garage, and sell spaces to willing buyers. He is not selling spaces on public land. No one has to buy a space if they don't want to. Jeez. Find something else to be outraged about.

[Mike]

If Metra wants to increase ridership -- and from all their advertising, I imagine they do -- why aren't they doing more to provide parking at their stations?

The article didn't mention Libertyville (downtown) but it's a similar situation there: limited permit parking, and daily-fee parking for non-residents is not available at rush hour. The new stations at Prairie Crossing have adequate parking though.

[Jeff]

Doris M wrote:

That's highway robbery, and the government really should step in and do something. People have a right to go to and from work without being ripped off by a PRIVATE developer who has no business meddling in the PUBLIC transportation system anyway.

How is the private developer ripping anyone off? This is a free market economy. If people choose to purchase spots who does that hurt? The government even makes out as they can now tax the individual owners. For people driving a $50k plus SUV, an additional $9k is not expensive.

[BDog]

The quote in this article that the lots fills up by 6:30 is absolutely ridiculous. Yes, the lot does fill up, but I take the 6:57 train each day and there are plenty of spots left. Paying $8K for a spot is outrageous, and hopefully nobody will be ignorant enough to purchase a space.

[brian]

Wake up earlier and get a spot. I used to live close enough to walk or ride a bike to the 59 station and there are plenty of spots available around 7:00. Get on the 7:17 and you're downtown at about 8:00.

That is unless things very drastically changed in the last year. I don't think MORE people got jobs downtown to take up more spots...

[Pete]

I wonder what stupid reason the city of Naperville will find to shut this down.

[bir]

$8.9K for for a deeded spot vs.$40/mo. for rental... at today's mortgage rates $8.9K would run about $50/mo. before taxes & assessments. Considering one would be building equity, and the mortgage payment is fixed vs. the rental to surely go up, it might not be such a bad idea.

[Anon Y Mouse]

Doris M wrote:

That's highway robbery, and the government really should step in and do something. People have a right to go to and from work without being ripped off by a PRIVATE developer who has no business meddling in the PUBLIC transportation system anyway.

Huh?

The private developer is developing private land near the metra station.

The point is that if you can get a permit at a public spot (Assuming you can get one...) You pay $480 a year.

If the spot costs $9,000 and you were to rent it out for $50.00 a month, you should see an ROI of ~5% each year assuming that the maintenance fees and taxes aren't that bad. The ROI is better than what you could get for a 10K 1YR CD at a bank. Plus over time, you could probably sell the spot at a profit.

Not a bad investment if you can afford it.

[Another Kevin]

Welcome to wealth distribution! A gated parking garage.... and for all we know even more delays in getting in and out of the place, not to mention that the assessment fees are also not included. This is summer - in winter someone will end up with a 9k snowbank for a spot.

People are nuts if they think that paying 9k for a temporary place to put one's car is a deal....

[Chris]

Parking garages are a novel concept...

[Storm]

for the love of god just build a multistory parking garage, that will solve all the problems and use the rest of the parking lot for green space.

[matt]

Hopefully If the line extension thru Montgomery/Oswego actually happens, The planners will have the foresight to build adequate parking from the get-go.

[Marcus Twain]

You know you people out there keep driving and driving, getting fatter and fatter, and dumber and dumber.

Here's an idea: talk to your local municipalities and tell them you want good, reliable, frequent feeder bus service. Think about it: a ride to the train after walking a few blocks. 10-20 minutes from door to rail car. All for a small $2 extra a day.$0 spend in gas.

Wait a second, am I on to something here? Nah, I'm just stating the obvious. But I know, the car is king in Naperville, and soon your congestion will be so horrible, you'll wish you could undo 20 years of poor development and mis-planning.

Good luck!

[Money to burn]

next wrote:

what recession?

huh? whats a rece..huh?

[Capitalist Pig]

This is a great idea! Anyone who doesn't like it doesn't have to pay for it. If the developer can't sell it for what he's asking, he'll have to lower the cost. But, he won't have to since the demand is there and it will most likely sell out immediately. Go private business who found a problem the local government couldn't solve and helped people get what they want. We need more thoughtful entrepreneurs like this! GO!