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Texas is expecting a rise in electric vehicle<\/a> charging stations \u201cto help meet the increasing demand of EVs on the road,\u201d according to the Texas Department of Transportation<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n In August, Houston\u2019s EV market increased 11% year-over-year<\/a>. This creates an opportunity for local retail developers, operators and landlords to optimize their spaces with EV charging stations, said Brandi Dees<\/a>, senior vice president at commercial real estate brokerage Lee & Associates – Houston<\/a> and a leading expert in retail fuel services.\u00a0<\/p>\n Dees and her team at Lee & Associates work alongside Lone Star Super Charge, an electrical provider that offers EV solutions, on-site selection of retail spaces and education for retail stakeholders, including landlords, on the value that charging stations can provide to their spaces and tenants.\u00a0<\/p>\n Dees conducts studies on the number of EV drivers in a particular area. Using Placer.ai<\/a>\u2019s location analytics platform, she and her team can determine where drivers come from, where they are headed and how long they stay at specific locations. They also include the number of electric cars sold in a particular area and how many of these cars go to which EV stations.\u00a0<\/p>\n Once Lone\u00a0Star and the retail center agree to move forward with installing EV chargers on a given retail property, Lone\u00a0Star, as a tenant, leases dedicated parking spaces from the property and installs the chargers. In this lease agreement, provided by Lee & Associates, landlords get either a particular dollar amount per space or a percentage of revenue from the charging itself.<\/p>\n \u201cAs the EV markets continue to grow every year, we\u2019re going to see a high increase in EVs at commercial properties all over the city,\u201d Dees\u00a0said. \u201cFor retailers, it\u2019s an amenity to their customers.\u201d<\/p>\n One concern EV drivers<\/a> have is whether they will have enough power to last them through the day. For retail stakeholders,\u00a0charging stations can help alleviate customers\u2019 concerns while also helping them and their tenants contribute to their bottom line, she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n The presence of\u00a0charging stations also helps retail centers gain revenue that wasn\u2019t initially planned for, Dees said. As EV charging stations are just in the parking lot, it is an amenity that doesn\u2019t add to a landlord\u2019s overhead costs. It also has the potential to be a long-term lease.<\/p>\n Users also don\u2019t have concerns about the quality of the fuel, as they get the same current regardless of which vehicle manufacturer they have, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cFor EV drivers, that 10- or 15-minute charge matters,\u201d Dees said. \u201cIf someone is going to a restaurant, a nail salon or a grocery store, they would be able to charge their car while they\u2019re running their errands. An amenity like this is extremely valuable.\u201d<\/p>\n Dees said the team helps landlords determine which parking spaces can be allocated for EV charging stations.\u00a0<\/p>\n As part of the lease agreement, Lone\u00a0Star is responsible for swapping any equipment that breaks or needs to be replaced. The terms of the agreement would change only if the landlord or other stakeholders make additions to the center that would impact the parking space or if there are any legislative changes that would impact EVs.<\/p>\n \u201cThey don\u2019t have to install or maintain it, and if something breaks or the charger gets hit, it\u2019s on the tenant to fix,\u201d Dees said. \u201cIt\u2019s a very easy lease and easy decision just because you\u2019re bringing in revenue with little to no overhead and no financial loss.\u201d<\/p>\n She predicted that Houston\u2019s EV market will continue to expand and retail providers will embrace EV charging as an opportunity to meet the needs of EV customers.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAs long as we\u2019re able to ease charging anxiety, I think the growth will continue exponentially,\u201d she said. \u201cOur goal is to put these EV chargers everywhere. We want to help landlords see EV charging in their parking lots as a business line and a value-add.\u201d<\/p>\n This article was produced in collaboration between\u00a0Lee & Associates<\/a>\u00a0and Studio B. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.<\/p>\n