‍The Challenge

As KaLeigh Williams joined as Community Manager, she inherited not only a property approaching full building occupancy, but also a parking system that needed optimization to support Waterton's ambitious growth plans. KaLeigh shared:

"We ran out of parking spaces. People on our team were having to tell residents that we didn't have anything available, so we didn't know what to do."

The challenge wasn't just about raw numbers. The 32-story Midtown Atlanta property has fewer parking spaces than units, and the surrounding area's limited and expensive street parking made on-site spaces incredibly valuable.

Many of these optimization opportunities emerged from newly released Parkade features, as well as Waterton's specific strategic priorities as the new owner.

As Waterton explored opportunities to optimize the system further, they identified several areas where they could enhance operations:

• Parking allocation: The property didn't have automated limits on parking spaces per unit, which became a priority as Waterton pushed toward their 95% occupancy refinancing goal
• Access control : Residents could enter the garage through either the Parkade app or physical decals. As Waterton focused on tighter access control for their refinancing requirements, they decided to consolidate to a single method
• PMS integration: Parkade's newly released property management system integration offered an opportunity to automate resident verification, a feature that hadn't been available to the previous owner
• Dynamic guest parking prices: With Parkade's newly launched pricing features, there was an opportunity to implement more sophisticated weekend and high-demand pricing strategies

As building occupancy climbed to 90% — with the parking garage at 96% occupied — Waterton needed to ensure parking wouldn't become a bottleneck to reaching their refinancing target.

The Solution

Building on the strong foundation established by CA Ventures and Willow Bridge, KaLeigh took a systematic approach to further optimizing their Parkade system. Working closely with Parkade's team, she implemented several key changes that leveraged newly available features:

Yardi integration with custom parking limits

To help ensure that spots were distributed to support their lease-up goals, Waterton implemented more advanced rules to automatically limit parking spaces per unit size. For example, 1-bedroom apartments were allowed 1 spot, 2-bedroom apartments received 2 spots, etc.

The newly launched Yardi integration and Parkade's rule set capabilities — features that weren't available during the initial lease-up phase — made this possible by automating this process, rather than relying on team members to keep track manually.

Streamlined access control

To meet Waterton's access control requirements for refinancing, the team eliminated the dual-access system that had been in place. Whereas before, residents could use either the app or physical fobs, this change ensured all garage access went through Parkade, providing complete visibility into who was parking where and when.

Market-aligned pricing on weekends

Working with Parkade's team, 903 Peachtree adjusted their parking rates based on local market analysis that aligned with Waterton's revenue optimization goals.

"Parkade was able to help us revisit our parking strategy by doing comps at other places around the area. We found out that we could actually increase pricing at certain times to help manage guest parking demand."

Leveraging Parkade's newly released dynamic pricing features, the team implemented pricing that charged premium rates during high-demand periods, particularly weekends.

Property management system integration

Using Parkade's newly launched PMS integration capability, Waterton implemented an automated check that ensured only current residents with active parking reservations could access the garage.

"By integrating with our PMS, we could make sure that only current residents had access," KaLeigh explained.

The integration also enforced their policy of one spot per apartment or leaseholder, preventing unauthorized parking by non-residents.

The Results

The optimization efforts delivered immediate and substantial results across multiple areas:

$3.7k boost in short-term parking revenue

The biggest revenue opportunity for Waterton was in short-term parking. While the previous owners had been happy with their guest parking revenue, Waterton saw even more room to grow. Working with Parkade's team to analyze local market rates, KaLeigh implemented dynamic pricing that charged premium rates during high-demand periods, particularly weekends.

The results were dramatic. Short-term parking revenue jumped from $3,357 to $7,100— roughly $3,700 in additional monthly revenue, a 111% increase.

Parking availability transformation

The systematic cleanup and integration had an even more dramatic effect on availability. The property that had seemingly run out of parking spaces suddenly had capacity again. 

They are currently sitting comfortably at 92% parking occupancy now, which KaLeigh mentions is an ideal space to be, that strikes the balance between maximizing revenue and leaving enough flexibility for new residents or guests. 

The optimizations transformed parking from a growth limitation into a manageable resource. By eliminating unauthorized parking, fixing incorrect assignments, and implementing proper access controls, the property went from turning away potential residents due to parking constraints to having available spots even at high occupancy levels.

Operational efficiency

From an operational standpoint, the changes were transformative. KaLeigh estimates her team now spends less than five minutes per month on parking management, which is mostly just residents popping in the office to talk about someone in their spot, to which the team directs them to Parkade. 

"I don't have to worry about parking. I know that Parkade's going to handle it.” 

This hands-off approach is enabled by Parkade’s high-touch approach. Since Parkade handles all the nitty-gritty enforcement tasks, and the app enables residents to self-serve for things like guest reservations or changing their spot, the team at 903 Peachtree can focus on other high-value work. 

Enhanced enforcement and security

The integration with their property management system created a robust enforcement framework. The system automatically tracks who should have access, making it easy to identify unauthorized vehicles. 

For residents who find a car parked in their spot, they can easily report it in the app. Parkade will instantly identify whether the vehicle belongs to another resident –– if not, the property manager can authorize the tow, and Parkade will take care of it from there. If the car does belong to a resident, a citation is applied.  

KaLeigh also sought Parkade’s support in refining their citation strategy.

“Previously, there was a flat $30 fee no matter what. But now, it increases for every repeat offense, which really helps to discourage people from constantly misparking.” 

Looking Forward

The success at 903 Peachtree demonstrates how proper system optimization can transform parking from a limitation into a revenue driver. By leveraging Parkade's integration capabilities, market pricing guidance, and comprehensive access controls, Waterton turned what appeared to be a parking shortage into a well-managed, profitable operation.

As KaLeigh put it: "Using Parkade is one million percent better" compared to manual parking management systems like spreadsheets or physical paper.

The combination of operational efficiency, revenue optimization, and enhanced security provides a foundation for continued success as the property balances high occupancy with resident satisfaction.

For properties facing similar challenges, 903 Peachtree's experience shows that the solution often lies not in adding more spaces, but in better managing the spaces you already have.

Ready to transform your parking operations? Schedule a demo to learn how Parkade can help optimize your parking management and boost revenue.