There’s no such thing as free parking — at least not in Long Beach, Calif.
Undeveloped lots in the Los Angeles County enclave trade fast and at a premium. But one .01-acre property has sat on the market for a whopping 500 days.
The asphalt-clad piece of land on Long Beach Boulevard in the Bixby Knolls neighborhood is just 4 feet wide and 96 feet long, or 384 square feet total.
The fraction of a parking lot doesn’t belong to either flanking business — a martial arts center and offices — so it’s up for grabs, asking $17,995 with agent Tova Oren of ERA North Orange County.
Nearly 65 feet of the parcel is steeply sloped, making it pretty much impossible to erect a level structure for, say, a petite boutique.
The listing suggests instead that the “land can be used for storage, food stand or parking carts, bikes, etc.” Utilities are readily available, according to the listing. “Every one of [the prospective buyers] asked me questions about it, and I tell them to contact the city about what they’re allowed to do with the property,” Oren said. “And every person gets different answers from the city.”
Despite the fact the land appears to be basically unusable, Oren told the Long Beach Post her client is “adamant” about the price tag.
Oren said she’s received offers from $1,000 to $15,000, but the lot’s owner won’t budge.
Turns out he was confused about his initial purchase.
“When he bought it, he thought it was a different lot — and then Googled it and found that he didn’t own what he thought he was buying,” Oren said. “And so now he’s just hoping that one day a builder will come and put up a shopping center.”
Almost $18,000 seems like a lot to pay when an extra-large storage unit in the area starts at around $300 a month: You could get five years of storage for the cost of the parcel. Even buying a brand-new Ford Fiesta to park on the land would do less damage to your wallet — less than $15,000.