Could Uber be the “single biggest game-changer” for RE?

At Rick Caruso’s shopping mecca the Grove, there is now an Uber drop-off point. To incentivize customers to use it, the developer offers customers free hot chocolate, apple cider and bottled water as they exit.

What Caruso is attempting is a growing trend. Developers in Los Angeles — and beyond — are offering their patrons subsidies and other incentives for using ride sharing apps, in lieu of parking space, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Services like Uber and Lyft are the “single biggest game-changer for real estate,” Dave Bragg, an analyst at real-estate research firm Green Street Advisors, told the Journal, especially with driverless cars on the horizon.

His company estimates that over the next three decades, parking needs will reduce by half as fewer and fewer people will own cars — that’s 75 billion square feet of parking rendered useless.

Jackie Levy, Caruso’s executive vice president of operations, told the Journal that the firm will continue to utilize Uber-friendly spaces in future projects.

Developer Trion Properties, too, is using Uber to cut down on parking space. For its 41-unit Eleanor Apartments near DTLA, new residents receive $100 in Uber concessions instead of having on-site parking. [WSJ] — Cathaleen Chen