With many apartment projects and commercial real estate worldwide, charging stations are not only utilities but also a crucial factor in determining occupancy rates in projects..
Apartments will be empty without charging stations
In an analysis of the “electric charging station” race in apartment, office projects, Los Angeles Times recounts the story of a $350 million apartment building in the center of Los Angeles (USA).
Before officially building, project director Hamid Behdad said he had to “compromise” to the last-minute demands of planning committee members, which were to quadruple the number of electric charging stations at the apartment tower. Although agreeing to the above plan, at that time, Mr. Hamid Behdad believed it was a “needless excessive requirement”.
Electric charging stations have become an essential amenity of the high-end apartment building The Kensington in Boston, Massachusetts, US. Photo: Gustav Hoiland
However, up until now, when the Broadway tower has been completed and attractive to buyers, Hamid Behdad admitted that he was extremely happy because the members of the planning committee forced the project to install charging stations at more than 20% of the parking spaces in the building. “Without these 90 chargers, we would really have difficulties selling apartments here”, Hamid Behdad said.
In fact, in many cities in the US, apartment project owners are racing to install charging stations to avoid business troubles. With increasing demand from homebuyers and renters, only projects with sufficient charging stations are being chosen by customers. Conversely, buildings without this amenity are at risk of becoming vacant.
Ms. Jackie Impellitier, Deputy CEO of ZRS Management, revealed that a property management company with 76,000 apartments is urgently installing level 2 electric chargers in the garage area. These are paid charging stations, with the ability to fully charge electric vehicles in about 3-8 hours. The charging cost will be added to the tenant’s electricity bill.
“Charging stations are no longer an amenity but a ‘necessary’ thing to attract and retain tenants. We will gradually lose tenants if we do not provide easy and convenient charging services,” Mrs. Jackie Impellitier admitted.
In 2021, the price of homes equipped with electric chargers in the Greater Toronto area (Canada) increased by more than 19% compared to 2020. Photo: Properly.ca
Everything is changing very quickly. According to Jackie Impellitier, 5 years ago, most developers and apartment owners did not see electric vehicle users as a potential group of renters. At that time, the market only had a few electric vehicle models. However, the current situation has changed significantly as virtually all global car manufacturers have produced electric vehicles.
Similar situations are occurring in many cities around the world. For example, in the Toronto and Vancouver areas of Canada, according to statistics, more and more users are looking to buy real estate with electric vehicle charging stations. According to records in 2020, 2021 in the Toronto and Vancouver areas, sales of apartments equipped with electric charging stations have an annual growth rate of 15%-16%.
Office and commercial real estate are hurrying to install charging stations
In addition to residential projects, in many office, commercial real estate projects worldwide, electric vehicle charging stations are also a determining factor for development. More and more businesses are using electric vehicles in their operations. Therefore, the availability of charging infrastructure has become an important factor in determining the location of business operations and branches.
Renowned retailers in the US are rushing to install charging infrastructure to serve the increasing number of electric vehicle customers in order to retain them. Photo: New York Post
According to a survey by ChargePoint, 90% of property managers surveyed said that access to electric charging infrastructure is an important criterion when evaluating potential locations for business operations.
In fact, brands and labels are particularly interested in charging stations – a factor considered important in attracting customers. Los Angeles Times quoted information that recently, retail giant 7-Eleven revealed plans to build the largest-scale fast-charging network on the market.
A series of major retail companies in the US have also joined the race. The Walgreens pharmacy chain has installed a charging system at more than 430 locations. Other renowned retailers are also rushing to install charging infrastructure, such as Ikea, Kohl’s, Walmart, Starbucks, Whole Foods, Taco Bell, the Cinemark cinema chain…
Even the “sandwich empire” Subway is planning to build “battery charging parks”. This is a system of combined restaurant, charging station, playground, green space… Subway plans to build these parks at new business locations across the US.
The inevitable trend of electric vehicles is causing many industries, from real estate to retail, to change and adapt. In order to encourage and avoid falling behind, electric vehicle charging stations in apartment, commercial projects have even become mandatory regulations in many countries. This is a direction in line not only with the practical needs of users but also expected to be a powerful solution to promote green transportation worldwide.
PV (Tuoitrethudo)
According to Los Angeles Times, Energy5
