In Houston, Texas, the Cox Automotive Group needed a large car and truck inventory lot for auto auctions for commercial dealerships. It had already purchased the land for a 653,400 square foot concrete parking lot, 4 acres of which was to be designated as a detention pond. The plan was to install impervious concrete and use the detention pond to manage stormwater runoff.
However, when Cox learned it would need the extra 4 acres for additional parking spots, a solution was needed that could not only provide extra parking spaces but also manage stormwater without requiring additional land.
This might sound impossible at a glance, but thankfully, TRUEGRID was able to knock this project out of the park.
Building the World’s Largest Permeable Parking Lot
Other permeable parking lots have existed before this one, like the one TRUEGRID did for another well-known auto brand AutoNation, but TRUEGRID broke the world record on this project for Cox. By installing the 653,400 square feet of space with TRUEGRID PRO PLUS pervious pavers and clean limestone, TRUEGRID was able to meet every single one of Cox’ requests while providing a ton of additional benefits in the process.
The installation was simple and involved the excavation of the lot at about 10 inches in depth. The fat clay subgrade beneath the base was sloped to facilitate the draining of stormwater into a perforated pipe that could transfer the water directly to the city system in less than 48 hours.
Cox chose clean limestone as this was the least expensive aggregate locally available. The base was built with #57 stone limestone, and the fill material for the surface pavers was also limestone. The result was left a 100% permeable parking lot, a sprawling 15 acres in size.
How Did this Permeable Parking Lot Benefit AutoNation?
Cox Automotive was able to reap a variety of benefits from building its parking lot with TRUEGRID permeable pavers rather than with concrete. The main benefit was the elimination of the need for a detention pond. They were able to turn the additional 4 acres – which would have been an expensive concrete hole in the ground i.e. detention pond- into a usable extra 1,000 parking spaces, resulting in the potential for much more profit from this lot.
They were also able to save money and time. To install a concrete parking lot of this size would have taken a very long time, but with TRUEGRID products, that installation time was slashed and the parking lot was ready for use in just 10 weeks.
Cox was also able to save a ridiculous amount of money by using permeable pavers instead of concrete. These savings came in the form of a lower upfront cost, a lower installation cost, and the elimination of long-term maintenance fees as well. The use of TRUEGRID SuperSpot markers instead of painted lot lines was able to aid in these savings.
In an area known for times of heavy rains and flooding, this parking lot instantly drains up to 1000 inches of rain per hour with absolutely no runoff.
What is the Environmental Impact of a Permeable Parking Lot this Large?
The positive environmental impact of this project was massive. By using 100% recycled plastic pavers, TRUEGRID recycled 862,488 lbs of plastic. This is equal to over 6.5 million plastic gallon jugs.
Also saved were 3,942 tons of Co2, equal to planting over 829,933 trees. The stormwater this lot can detain is equivalent to almost 40,000 full-size bathtubs of water, easing what would have been a titanic strain on the local city water system.
What Can We Take Away from this Project?
This project might be the largest permeable parking lot in the world, but it’s just one example of what’s possible when you swap out impervious parking lots for permeable ones made with TRUEGRID pavers.
We’ve never before seen an innovation in any industry that can unilaterally save business owners both money and time while outperforming its competitors and predecessors AND having a much more positive impact on the environment.
The benefits from TRUEGRID pavement in both a personal, financial sense, and a communal, environmental sense are entirely new. The excitement around this innovative pavement solution is bound to grow exponentially over the next few decades, leading to more efficient pavement and a sizable dent in global emissions and waste. It’s safe to say that when it comes to innovating in an eco-friendly manner that benefits everyone, TRUEGRID is leading the way in pavement solutions.
