You may have noticed over the years that not everyone shares your interest in motor vehicles, but show up at any bike night or cruise night and you’re suddenly surrounded by lots of folks similarly addicted. As the evening turns to night, everyone heads home and parks in their garage, sometimes squeezing in next to the family car. If the family garage isn’t big enough, you start looking for safe storage but then what if you want to spend the day working on your classic? Those self storage units fall a bit short. Maybe you just want to relax in the garage, wouldn’t it be nice if you had a few like minded folks next door?
Those kinds of questions are what led to the creation of the AutoMotorPlex of Minneapolis, a group of condos for your cars, bikes or almost anything motorsports related located on a 40 acre campus designed to look like a European village. You don’t live there, your vehicles do.
The garages come in many sizes but you buy them bare and finish them to your personal taste. The essentials of 100 amp electrical service, floor drains, sprinklers, in floor heat, security cameras are provided along with many available options plus there’s a clubhouse for owners to meet in and use for a variety of motorsports related purposes. You might have some classic bikes, the garage next door a Cobra or Ferrari, or as is often the case, a whole stable of vehicles.
Units start at $40K and go up to half a million dollars. Widths are 13 feet to 32 feet, length from 25 to 86 feet, 16 to 20 foot ceilings, garage doors are big enough for most any vehicle, in other words, they built it, motorheads will come.
Sure, it’s not cheap, but there’s a market for these as most units are occupied and I think it’s one helluva lot more appealing than one of those golf communities. Yep, I could definitely enjoy one of those spots.
Link: AutoMotorPlex via Autoblog
Video below:
HoughMade says
That’s not a bad idea at all. I feel for the vehicular pressures of the city dweller. but this is why some of use have forsaken the higher income of urban areas for rural life….and pole barns.
B50 Jim says
Ah, yes…. a 4-bay garage with a workshop attached, and a house out back, would be ideal. If the garage has a second story with heat and plumbing, the house is optional. But those of us who live in cities make do with what we have. Even a 2-car garage can work if you don’t use it to keep things like mowers, boats and your brother-in-law’s furniture.
MotoRandom says
Okay, I live in the area. It would be inaccurate to call this urban and it’s nowhere near Minneapolis. Where it’s located is out in country club land near the wealthiest suburbs in the Twin Cities area. I think there may be a little bit of marketing at play there but when you think about it there is a sound business logic to it. The highest concentration of expensive European sports cars in Minnesota are right out in this neck of the woods. This is most assuredly rich guy play land but I am curious and will definitely have to head out there for one the Saturday events. I enjoy sports cars too, though not as much as motorcycles. Given that Minnesota is an artic wasteland for half of the year it will be nice for the guys who can afford it to have a safe warm place for the pricey road toys to reside.
todd says
If they let you live in your RV outside the garage that would be all anyone needs.
-todd
bkowal says
It would be really cool if they had a small track there.
kevin says
“Units start at $40K and go up to half a million dollars.”
For that type of scratch why not have a garage built on your property. I understand city dwellers being space limited but Moto Random lives in the area and says its more of a surburbanite paradise.
I’d rather have my vehicles within walking distance.
Jim says
Tough for the guy who’s lot is too small for a garage or who lives in a condo. One of the simmering disputes with my wife is that she’d like to move to a condo and I don’t want to give up my garage and the wood shop in the basement. While starting at 40K isn’t cheap it would give us an option that meets both our needs.
Ken says
Spend 200K on a garage that you can spend the weekend in is about the same as a lake lot in MN.
Actually, just to buy a parking spot at my condo is 25K. That spot doesn’t have walls or electricity available, just a slab where your doors still can get dinged and your bike can be stolen. The 40K option looks great, but prices would be tripple that here in California. But to have a place for my toys where I could escape to a couple times a week and have buddies over to wrench and watch the game…. Sounds pretty good to me!
Ken says
I think a big part of the appeal is the community aspect. You might be the only guy on your block that likes anything mechanical. In a place like that, everyone is into it. Don’t know how to rebuild your engine, go see Bob 3 doors down, offer him a beer in exchange for some advice!
HoughMade says
Those same wealthy suburban areas often have restrictive covenants or zoning ordinances that would keep a similar buildings out of the neighborhood. I hate people telling me what I can and can’t put on my property…another reason to be in the country. By the way, in my world if you can walk to your nearest neighbor’s house in 5 minutes, that’s “city” to me.
I like the idea…it’s just not for me.
mule says
I sign up in a heartbeat, except it’s in Minn.! Maybe next time.
Ken says
Mule,
You might know a guy or two who could make that happen out here! But then your wife might kick you out of your garage and you would have to drive to work.
mule says
I think my dream home would be a giant industrial building (or old fire department) with a shower, a kitchen, and a foldout couch. Also would probably need a fan to blow the gargae smells away from the kitchen….or not. I could have 40 bikes in work at one time. Or have an indoor shorttrack on cement!
dannyb says
i live in the minneapolis metro, wish i could afford it, but you could buy a beutifull country mansion and builld your own ultimate mancave for the highend garages here. My two stall 1950’s ranch home with mini fridge, record player, workbench and two bikes suits me nicely.
mule says
I have a record player in my garage too!!!!!
dannyb says
Born in 1980, and remember listening to my dads vinyl when i was younger. The Clash, Ramones, rockabilly and old blues music, just sounds better on vinyl i think.
Nicolas says
Pretty pricey, if you’re a serious motorhead you want to be close to your babies, I’d say … and if you can afford one of these, you prolly can have a nice garage/shop at your house, no ?
I personally easily fit 6 bikes (ready to hit the road) and a full size truck and a project bike on its workbench and some lawn-care stuff in a normal 2 cars garage …
Still cool if you can afford it …
Andrew says
Pfffft! What’s wrong with stashing a station wagon and two big bikes in a single car garage…..
zipidachimp says
living in an apartment with thieves in the underground parkade forced me into renting a garage, $150.00/mo., no heat, no nosy landlady, paradise.
Drew says
Im sure Paul wont mind if I post this link. If any of you guys are interested in building your own garage or perhaps looking at expanding or renovating, then come over to our forum and have a look. Just make sure to come straight back here to the kneeslider of course. Great place for picking up ideas and innovations.
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/
PeteP says
Riminds me of Dan Tanna in Vega$. In that show, he lived in a drive in garage.
Greybeard says
“…for the SERIOUS Motorhead”?
I’ve always considered myself QUITE serious, just under-funded.
Ouch, Paul, what a lousy shot that was! :p
Greybeard says
You bothering to shower now?
Azzy says
Heck, I would rent one for a week to get some projects done. Ive tried around here, not happening.
cyclox says
for that price, I think they need a small test track, a dyno, machine shop and paint booth on site as well.
Dave Moto says
Sounds nice, but there is something missing: community.
I live in an apartment in NW Portland OR, a downtown-ish neighborhood of beautiful old houses and some old apartments with a smattering of new condos. While my 1950 building is quite nice, I chose the building primarily for the garage. I wanted a place where I could store a couple classic cars and a few bikes safely out of the lovely Portland winter, and also a place where the management would let me set up a workbench — virtually impossible goals for an apartment dweller — so I signed on the dotted line with gusto when I found it.
The garage is a secure two level affair that no one would think twice about as they passed it by. But inside is Shangri La for gearheads — it has been colonized over the years by the neighbors in the fancy houses as a place to store and work on their car collections. My ’69 Mustang is right at home with the 60s Porsches, 80s Ferraris, 50s Jaguars, boat-like 60s caddies and other assorted marvels. Across from me is an honest-to-god un-restored daily driver 289 AC Cobra that has been owned by the same old guy since the 60s. Next to me is a Studebaker Avanti. But, as cool as the cars are, the owners are cooler.
I find myself in the garage on a regular basis — tinkering on the old Stang or one of my vintage motorcycles. But I’m not alone. The old guys are in there too — bleeding the brakes on the Cobra, or trying to fix the fuel pumps on the Jag (again), or just waxing and polishing their pride and joy. We tell jokes about Lucas electronics, help each other with the heavy lifting 2-man stuff, argue over whether I need to switch off my trance music in favor of their classic rock (it’s my stereo, dammit), leave for the cruise in’s together, and generally have a little makeshift community united by our shared gearhead tendencies.
As cool as a private garage condo sounds, I wouldn’t trade it for a garage community.
Paul Crowe - "The Kneeslider" says
The community aspect seems to be what this complex was all about, though the other guys’ cars are in the garage next door instead of the same garage. I think there’s probably a lot of visiting among neighbors and lots of advice and help available for those who desire it. The community center is where they can gather for special events and each person can set up his own garage to his personal taste. I have seen other shared garage type communities, though, and they seem like they could be very enjoyable, too, with a large space and each vehicle owner having his own area within it. Pros and cons both ways.
Rod McKeithan says
I think its great for those like minded guys n gals that have a love for those things mechanical and don’t have the place for their things mechanical. I live in a urban setting luckily on a very deep lot….so at the very back end I placed my humble but comfy for me 16×24 two story “Old Guys Garage”.
Been up since 05….houses very well all three of my motorcycles and my lift
and workbench and all my tool boxes I bought and inherited throughout my life….
when its time to service a bike on the lift it goes work gets done and I’m off
When its time for fun we roll the bikes out crank up the music hang out by the patio in front fridge is always stocked with beverages and one day I plan to finish the upstairs to man cave specs….til then I’m good and hope all that appreciate the mechanical way get on board with this fellows idea it will serve them well…..