Americans Demand Larger Garages as Car Ownership Continues to Rise
by Kristi Arellano for The Denver Post
Drive through almost any newer neighborhood and it almost seems that people are living in big garages with little homes attached. No surprise. For the first time, many American households have more vehicles than they do licensed drivers, according to new Bureau of Transportation Statistics research. As the American fixation with vehicles has grown, garages have grown, too. While some schools of neighborhood design are once again relegating garages to the back of the lot, neighborhoods of what some urban planners call "snout houses" -- or houses dominated by large garages -- are still popping up, and demand for larger garages has only intensified.
The share of new single-family homes with three-car or larger garages swelled to 20 percent since 1992, according to the National Association of Home Builders. The trade association reports that demand for larger garages may be even higher. Jay Stoner, president of Stoner & Co., a Fort Collins homebuilder, is constructing a house outside of Fort Collins that will have a three-car garage in the front and a two-car garage off the walkout basement in the back. Most of homes he's building in the high-end subdivision, called The Hill at Cobb Lake, have four- and five-bay garages. Some even have six, he said. "Garages are like master-bedroom closet space," he said. "If you've got it, you're going to fill it." For some homeowners, garages have become more than overnight storage for the SUV: They're being used as recreation rooms, party areas or stylized storage areas instead.
"Garages are getting bigger but not necessarily better," said Bill West, a Fort Collins real estate agent and author of "Your Garagenous Zone: The Complete Garage Organizer Guide." West says people are trying to get away from the "landfill mentality" that allowed them to pack their garages tight with junk and "are trying to turn them into attractive, functional places." West's own three-car garage, with a white, epoxy-coated floor, houses two vehicles, a TV, VCR and a treadmill. The space is used for variety of activities, including Cub Scout meetings and cigar parties, which West likes to call "cigarage" parties. West recently hosted a 35-person wine-tasting fundraiser in his garage, and the area served as an overflow space for a New Year's party. "People just marveled at the garage," West said of the guests at his wine-tasting. "They were wide-eyed and taken aback. They couldn't believe we actually kept cars in there."
Some homeowners move the cars out altogether and turn their garages into living space. An estimated 1.3 million garages were converted into some type of living space in 1998, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Local architects said they occasionally convert garages into living space, but the projects usually include the construction of another garage on the lot. When a homeowner does make the conversion, they typically turn the room into a family room, a computer room or occasionally a bedroom, said Michelle Aree, president of Neighborhood Professionals Garage Builders in Denver. Converting a garage typically costs about $18,000 and building a free-standing garage on the lot can range from $10,000 to $15,000, Aree said. That compares with roughly $40,000 to build a new addition of the same size to the house, she said.
Garage-conversion projects are generally more involved than most people anticipate because the builder must bring the garage up to meet electrical and other codes for it to be used as living space, Aree said. But homeowners who aren't interested in a complete conversion will often bring a television, a sofa or even a refrigerator into the garage to create an instant retreat for dad or the kids. Even if they're not moving into their garages, half of all homeowners said they plan to at least reorganize their garages within the next two years, according to a recent survey by Peachtree Consulting Co. For many, that simply means cleaning up oil spots and putting the tools away. Others are turning the cleanup into a costly investment.
Gerard Leone and his wife, Gizane Indard, bought a home in Highlands Ranch earlier this year. As their list of planned renovations -- including a new roof and remodeled kitchen and bathroom -- grew, Leone decided that the garage should become a priority as well. "It's the main point of entry for the house," said Leone, who helps design factories. "Coming in through a dirty, dingy garage is depressing. With my garage, it's a completely different feeling." The gleaming white walls surrounding Leone's two cars and his motorcycle have become the envy of his neighbors, he said. "Everybody stops by and says 'What the heck is that?'" Leone said of his garage. "The garbage guy stopped in to look at it the other day."
Business has been evenly split between homeowners who want to spruce up their existing garages, and buyers of new homes who are adding the customized system as an option from their builders. People are starting to realize that the garage is the one room in the house that their neighbors see on a regular basis. Among the pieces that buyers can purchase are tread-plated shelves, boxes, refrigerators and freezers. West, whose books instruct homeowners on organizing their garages, estimates that a complete garage organization will cost from $9 to $14 per square foot. He said homeowners who invest in fancy garage-organization systems can recover from 40 percent to 60 percent of their costs when they sell their homes. Leone admitted that it took a bit of convincing for his wife to agree to the investment. But Leone didn't balk at the price tag. "Ten thousand isn't that much," he said. "Not for my garage."
