£200,000 is a staggering sum of money, especially when spent on a plot that covers no more than 284 square feet. That is exactly what a wealthy motorist in Britain has done – he has invested £200,000 in an underground parking space in west London. The car park is located in Basil Street in the Knightsbridge area, close to the landmark Harrods store.
The extravagant price does not include the £710 annual service charge. But the buyer will own the property for 90 years. The underground car park is on a 99-year lease. According to estate agents, the car park can house a large vehicle or two smaller ones. But is that reason enough to fork out £200,000?
Apparently, this Basil Street car park offers round the clock security and remote access. It boasts of separate entry and exit points as well. Moreover, if you study the effective cost over the long run, it all works out. Over a 90-year period, the £200,000 investment works out to the very reasonable 33p per hour – a great bargain by parking fee standards for the Knightsbridge area. Typically motorists pay ten times that amount.
Harrods Estate Asset Management made this deal happen. However, the buyer’s identity has not yet been revealed. One of the terms of this high-end parking space sale was that the motorist should reside within 400 meters of the spot.
Over the years, unavailability of space has fueled hikes in parking fees. For instance, midtown Manhattan parking a year ago was about $529 for a month. Moreover, the rise in the number of luxury car buyers has also given rise to luxury parking, with Miami’s $65 million parking garage being a case in point.
