Frustrated parkers rejoice! There is now an alternative to the Saint Louis University parking system.
Student Government Association members Adam Altman and Dane Salazar recently purchased a parking lot near the campus, and they are selling the spots to SLU students.
The lot is located at the northwest corner of Olive and Spring streets, which is a block away from the John Cook School of Business and Administration and the School of Law buildings. The new lot is also closer to the center of campus than the Olive-Compton parking garage.
Each student who purchases a spot will be guaranteed a parking spot. This differs from SLU’s parking system, where most of the parking options do not necessarily guarantee a space.
The new lot is slightly more expensive than a general parking pass, at $175 per semester compared to $165 a semester for resident general parking at SLU. However, the lot is cheaper than other options that SLU offers, such as premium or reserved parking.
Compared to its assigned-space parking counterpart at SLU-which is $900 per year for reserved parking and $750 per year for a premium pass-the new lot is $340 per year. That equals at least a $410 savings for the same deal.
The new lot will also offer summer parking for $30. SLU also offers summer parking, where you can park only in the Laclede garage, for $60.
Altman and Salazar estimate that there will be between 130 and 160 spots available, and some have already been sold.
Why would anybody want to buy a parking lot? Salazar and Altman, as commuting students, said that they understood the plight of SLU parkers and the frustration with the SLU system.
“We wanted to give back to the SLU community,” said Salazar, “by offering a unique service, a better service to SLU students.”
These two business-minded students, one an economics major and the other a finance major, also saw this as a profitable opportunity.
The idea began when the previous owners, who were three law students at SLU, went to SGA and expressed an interest in selling their company, as they were graduating and not interested in keeping it. Altman and Salazar saw this as an opportunity and began going over the numbers.
After the initial offer and subsequent negotiations, Altman and Salazar became owners of the parking lot.
How exactly did two college kids pay for a business venture like this?
Altman and Salazar were adamant that they would not sell part of the company in order to pay for it, as they wanted to have full control of the company. Neither did they want to resort to getting a loan from a bank.
The prospective owners sought out other sources of money and paid for the company using their own savings, liquidating some stocks, and doing a little borrowing from people not associated with the company or any bank.
Altman and Salazar have accounted for potential cost such as maintenance, towing and hangtags. They have also taken safety into account, as the parking lot is fenced in and has sufficient lighting. They have been in contact with the city police who will patrol the area. The Department of Public Safety is also willing to provide escort services from campus to the parking lot.
