Zeller Increases Tenant Satisfaction & NOI at LaSalle Plaza with Data-Driven Parking Management

Challenge: At LaSalle Plaza in Minneapolis, Zeller, one of the most prestigious vertically integrated commercial real estate investment and development firms in the Midwest, had the goal of fully utilizing LaSalle Plaza’s parking garage to drive increases in NOI and asset value. To promote increased garage utilization, Zeller needed to fully understand the groups of parkers that were using the garage, how long they were staying, and where there were opportunities to increase revenue. Zeller aimed to manage inflows of both contract and transient parkers, and to put out the full sign at the latest possible time, ensuring that there would be available spaces for tenants while also maximizing transient revenue.

Solution: To carry out their business objectives and manage LaSalle Plaza, Zeller hired Denison Parking, an Indianapolis based parking operator with an accomplished track-record of improving asset performance dating to the late 1920s. Denison is one of the nation's most experienced parking operators. Denison’s multi-generational perspective in the parking industry allows them to understand the value that technology brings to their clients. This data-driven and technology-first approach to parking management led Denison to Smarking, which they brought to LaSalle Plaza in order to help them meet Zeller’s objectives. Smarking enables Denison to:

• Monitor real-time occupancy with precision, without manually counting cars. Denison and Zeller can access the Smarking dashboard anywhere to see the current occupancy of LaSalle Plaza at any time. They can confidently decide when to put out the full sign, thereby managing capacity and maximizing transient revenue.

“Denison and Smarking helped us understand what parking KPI’s are important, where there are levers to pull, and how to make decisions around our assets.”

Bob Six, CEO and BOMA Fellow

Smarking’s Realtime Occupancy allows LaSalle Plaza to track occupancy and make informed decisions.

• Conduct in-depth analysis with the historical trends of when parkers enter, exit, and understand what the average occupancy rate is for any given time through several quick clicks without having to crunch numbers on spreadsheets for hours. This understanding of historical trends helps Denison and Zeller to forecast more accurately.

“Denison believes the intentional application of technology can enhance value for parking assets, both through revenue enhancement and operating cost reduction. We choose to leverage advances in technology, and partner with software providers like Smarking, for the benefit of our clients.”

Perry Griffith III, President of Denison Parking

Average Year-to-Date occupancy during weekday peaks at 12PM.

“We now have the ability to track Tenant Level parking utilization behavior and ensure the best experience for our tenants."

Steve Herron, President, Zeller Management Corporation

ROI: Because Denison and Zeller can track real time occupancy through Smarking, they’re able to wait, on average, 30 minutes longer before displaying the full sign than they previously would. Their increased visibility into real-time occupancy helps raise tenant satisfaction because a greater number of parkers are able to access the garage; fewer are turned away for being at capacity.

“Real-time occupancy allows for a more seamless parking experience for our tenants.”

Xue Yang, Senior Property Manager