The big square box in the photo above is the Kroger on Parsons Avenue, with a large parking lot in front. It’s never full, even when the first week of the month rolls around.
Now, look at the two yellow [school buses] parked in the lot just north of the Kroger store. That area is also part of Kroger’s parking lot. A “land mass” equivalent to six single-family home sites, sits vacant, with the exception, as one can see here, of four parked cars.
The “empty lots” contribute $2,027 in property taxes. Perhaps a reasonable amount, considering they are producing nothing. But that’s just it. Those lots are doing nothing.
Likely part of a parking-to-retail ratio when the Kroger store was built (1998), these empty lots create urban blight. A collection point for litter and ad-hoc car repair, this is another example of poor land use.
Even with a modest level of property taxes, six new homes on this “should-be” in-fill site, would generate $104,000+ in taxes and create an opportunity to provide new housing, as well as bolster the adjoining properties value. With a land value of over $100,000, I can’t imagine why Kroger hasn’t filed for rezoning so that they could be sold off. Worse still, is why the City hasn’t offered to rezone the lots for the sake of creating more revenue for itself.
This is a great way to point out these poor uses of space, thanks for posting it up. For that matter what a fantastic use of Google maps or whatever. Another consideration would be that Kroger and similar big box stores could use a model I saw often back in Chicago. Put parking in a garage form above the big box, then you don’t even need the lot out front. Thanks for your well presented argument towards density for Columbus.
[...] the adjacent parking lot which Kroger also owns which is located between Frebis and Moler (click HERE for more info). The lot is maintained as part of the square-footage-to-parking ratio that was [...]