IREI Interview: Driving value in parking assets

Following is an article as published in IREI i3 Institutional Investing in Infrastructure, April 2025. 

Institutional Investing in Infrastructure recently spoke with Leisel Moorhead, partner at QIC, about the benefits of investing in parking assets.

What was QIC’s journey to investing in the niche infrastructure subsector of parking assets?

We started looking at parking as a subset of transport infrastructure well before the acquisition of our first asset. Through our investment research, we found that a very stable subset of parking was tied to demand generators such as hospitals, airports and universities. This narrow focus allowed us to take a very strategic approach when we were considering opportunities. We also ensured we were comfortable that it met the criteria of an infrastructure investment, which includes being an essential service with long-term stable returns.

This journey led us to our first big opportunity back in 2012 — CampusParc at the Ohio State University. It was the first university concession for a parking structure in the United States, so quite an accomplishment. And we, through our clients, were able to successfully win that in a competitive process. Following that, in 2018 we replicated our Ohio State success by investing in MasParc Northeastern University in Boston. After holding these assets for some time and building them into strong resilient companies, we recently exited both parking systems on very favorable terms for our investors.

How has QIC been able to leverage its skill set in managing these assets?

People often underestimate the intricacies of managing parking assets. They can look like simple multilevel structures, however managing them effectively over the long term requires a lot of consideration and effort. Behind the building façade, we worked with the management teams to continuously make the asset not only attractive for users, but to the university and investors, as well. 

At QIC we delve deeper and aim to uncover the true value that exists in these assets. We actively managed the assets through the initial transition to operational improvements, optimizing financial processes and lowering risks. And certainly, managing the stakeholder relationships in a diverse university context is critical to success.

 

Leisel Moorhead - Partner, QIC Infrastructure

What makes parking assets unique to manage?

One of the things that makes parking management so complex is that each parking system is different, so solutions need to be tailored accordingly. For example, the Ohio State facility has approximately 37,000 parking spaces across 16 multistory garages, 196 surface parking lots and 158 metered spaces. In contrast, Northeastern’s MasParc operates a parking system that includes approximately 3,100 parking spaces across four garages and 12 surface lots. To make sure we were focused on each system’s needs, we built two different management companies from the ground up that were charged with growing value in their respective parking system.