Perimeter Mall shoppers will need to pay up if they want a prime parking spot at the popular Dunwoody retail and dining center.
Starting Monday, just in time for the peak holiday shopping frenzy, visitors must pay to park in the 300-space lot between restaurants The Cheesecake Factory and Maggiano’s Little Italy. That area is a high-traffic zone, where motorists search for spots and pedestrians walk to the entrance. Perimeter Mall management is hoping to ease the gridlock by reserving the coveted front lot for paid parking only.
“It’s created a whole lot of congestion in that area, especially during the holidays,” said David Silver, the mall’s senior general manager. “So this is going to allow us to have a better guest experience with having availability of parking during lunch peaks, dinner peaks at our main entrance there.”
Jozsef Papp
Jozsef Papp
The mall, located off Ashford-Dunwoody Road, has a total of about 7,000 parking spots, most of which will remain free.
Parking in the front lot will cost $2 per hour, up to $10 per session, matching the cost of valet parking at the mall. The valet service also will utilize the paid lot. Silver hopes the changes improve the valet experience, too.
“When there’s a lot of traffic, sometimes those cars can’t be retrieved or properly parked in a timely manner,” Silver said.
The mall is owned by Brookfield Properties, which also owns Cumberland Mall in Cobb County.
ParkMobile will operate the lot, and parkers can pay using the mobile app. It’ll be a “soft rollout” as guests get accustomed to the paid lot. Enforcement will be conducted by the valet company. Unpaid parkers will face warnings initially and, eventually citations, Silver said.
For each dollar spent at the lot, 10% will go toward FurKids, an animal rescue organization in Georgia.
“Our goal isn’t just to make a buck, but it’s to create a better experience at the front of our mall for our guests, our visitors and also give back to our charitable partner,” Silver said.
Halli Jacobson, a spokesperson for ParkMobile, said the company has partnered with many other malls across the U.S. to mitigate the parking stress people often associate with holiday shopping by charging for parking spots.
“The app allows users to find and pay for parking spots directly from their smartphones, eliminating the hassle of driving around in circles, searching for an available spot, or fumbling for change at parking meters,” she said, in an email to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Paid parking can eliminate many of these frustrations as it helps to reduce congestion, making it easier to find a spot for drivers with increased turnover.”
A few years ago, the Mall of Georgia in Buford added paid parking with a reservation system through which guests can reserve spaces in specific lots to avoid the arduous search for an open spot.
Many traditional malls have struggled in recent years with the advent of online shopping, worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic. Some are being torn down or repurposed: The North DeKalb Mall recently was demolished to make way for a new mixed-use development and the struggling Mall West End was acquired by the city of Atlanta. But others have stayed open and bustling.
The end-of-year holiday season has long been a boon for traditional malls, attracting Christmas shoppers to take pictures with Santa Claus and knock out their gift shopping in one place.
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