The cost of building a single parking stall in a Seattle residential garage is an estimated $20,000 and $50,000, according to The Stranger. That cost gets passed on to the renters, who can pay $500 more a month in low‐rise apartments, a 2012 Portland, Oregon study found.
The GazeBox likely won’t solve these problems, but it might offer an interesting alternative if your home doesn’t come equipped with a garage. The structure is meant to provide shelter for your car — keeping it safe from sun, rain, ice, snow, and birds — but also transform into a gazebo when the car is parked elsewhere.
The iron framework and polycarbonate panels are movable, to either close down around your car or open up on the sides and let you get some shade. Either side of the structure opens up sort of like a traditional garage, using the included remote. Users can also add on an alarm system or air conditioner.
The Italian company that makes the GazeBox claims it’s easy to anchor to the ground and doesn’t require any special permits if it’s sitting on your property… though it probably depends on where you live. We can’t imagine some hoity-toity homeowners’ associations being too willing to let people have cars sit on their lawns just because they’re encased in a giant plastic shell (although it does look kind of cool with its glowing lights).
The mid-sized option is just over 20 feet long. That might work for homes with driveways but no garage, especially in places with rough winters. One of the toughest things about leaving your car out in a cold climate is chipping away at an ice-covered windshield when you’re already late for work. Unfortunately, those of us with street parking will just have to keep exposing our rides to the elements.
We reached out to GazeBox for pricing information and will update the post with the company’s response.
