Vinik real estate team picks partner to manage parking operations
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Nov 24, 2015

Strategic Property Partners has struck a deal with a Dallas-based company that uses mobile technology to manage parking in its district in downtown Tampa.

SPP, which is controlled by Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik and Cascade Investment LLC, said Tuesday that it is partnering with ParkHub.com to use its Prime program in the district. SPP owns or controls close to 40 acres between the Channel district and central business district, including parking for hockey games and other events at Amalie Arena.

Prime includes a handheld processing device that operates via cloud-base software, which parking attendants use "to accept credit cards, record cash payments and validate QR/bar codes from pre-purchased parking reservations," according to a news release from ParkHub.com.

"SPP has been impressed with ParkHub's innovative use of technology and information to improve the parking experience," Jim Shimberg, SPP's chief operating officer, said in a statement. "We expect ParkHub's involvement in managing parking operations will help SPP concentrate on our core business: developing downtown Tampa as a connected urban multi-use project on the waterfront."

The first phase of SPP's district is slated to total $1 billion in development costs and include 1,000 residential units, an office building, 200,000 square feet of retail, restaurant entertainment space, infrastructure work and renovations to Channelside Bay Plaza and the Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel and Marina. The University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine and a companion medical office building is also included in the first phase.

Through ParkHub.com, customers can buy parking spots in advance, like booking a hotel room or airline tickets. The company says the Prime software will "maximize efficiency" of parking operations, as parking operators can view parking inventory, transactions and traffic flow from a cloud-based dashboard updated in real time. This allows them to manage employee placement and adjust prices based on supply and demand.

"Parking is often a venue operator's first point of contact with customers, so we recognize that SPP has entrusted ParkHub with something special, and we will seize this opportunity to make a lasting positive impression," George Baker, founder and CEO of ParkHub.com, said in a statement.

Ashley Gurbal Kritzer is a reporter for the Tampa Bay Business Journal.