Spaces to places? The car park gems in intu’s portfolio

Intu properties has revealed that it is working on plans to utilise some of its most valuable car parking land by re-purposing spaces into PRS flats and hotels.  The opportunities will have already been noted by Brookfield, Olayan and Peel Group, which have lodged a £2.9bn indicative bid for the company. In its trading statement this morning the company said it had sites with the potential for 5,000 PRS residential units and around 600 hotel rooms, hinting at the amount of unutilised land and car-parking sites it currently has on its books. Intu’s estate According to Radius Data Exchange, the portfolio of intu’s estate contains 243 acres of land used for car parking (including multi-storey levels and basement facilities) across an estimated 84,000 spaces. So, whether under its current public ownership or in the hands of the group of bidders, will the sites be sold to raise funds? Or changed to different use types? The other question of course is, where will people park? Looking at the physicality of each scheme in isolation, some will be easier to develop than others. Shopping centres such as Lakeside, Trafford Centre and Metrocentre are straddled by vast external traditional car parks, which are great opportunities if a developer is looking to add separate additional facilities or create something completely different. Prospective opportunities Other schemes including Derby, Milton Keynes and Eldon Square have multi-storey parking facilities on their roof. These are more difficult to transform and certainly more expensive, but nonetheless are also prospective opportunities for residential development.  In the dawning age of driverless cars it is expected that fewer and fewer people will be driving in the near future. Westfield Stratford has already set the wheels in motion, significantly reducing the amount of car parking space and adding an additional 150,000 sq ft of retail space Hammerson also said in July that it would be consolidating £1.1bn of assets from its portfolio, pumping millions of pounds back into its flagship destinations. It is likely we will see many more of the traditional REITS alter their traditional investment models as the market, and consumer-spending habits, continue to evolve.  To send feedback, e-mail james.child@egi.co.uk or tweet @JamesChildEG or @estatesgazette