We all know Athens and Ohio University are notorious for, among several things, a shortage on parking. And it makes sense; OU has been here for well over 200 years, and parking lots for horses and buggies was definitely not a thing. As the town and the university grew hand-in-hand, things started to get weird. Crooked half-a-block streets, 100-foot stairways built into the hills, an inconsistent system of one-way roads, and historic homes upon historic homes that are now Ohio University housing and off-campus rentals, are all what make Athens charming.
But all that also means this 200-year-old town is tight on parking real estate. Which is why when you’re shopping around for off-campus Athens rental apartments or houses, pay attention to the rental company who owns the building. The best apartments in Athens are the ones that make your life easier. And relying on street parking that’s not guaranteed and has a 24-hour limit is kind of the opposite of that.
Permanent Parking in Athens, Ohio means No More Parking Tickets
If you’ve been roughing it (read: using street parking and making sure to move every 24 hours), you’ve likely accumulated a parking ticket or two…. Or 6 or 7. Even the most diligent of us stay out at the bars too late one night and don’t wake up before our car gets clocked for having been sat in the same place for 24 hours and 13 minutes. Bam. Parking ticket. Athens actually makes a decent amount of its money each year via parking tickets, so they’re always looking.
Deciding to rent parking in Athens, especially off-campus parking near uptown and OU, is a good decision all around. You eliminate those pesky tickets, but you also make sure your car is always in the same, safe place. There’s a lot less chance of a drunk wayward kid slashing your tires on his way home from the bars if your car is parked in a well-lit place near several other Athens rentals and homes.
It’s really a risk-reward situation; if you’re super lucky, you might pull off the street-parking life. But you run the risk of getting side-swiped, broken into, getting a ticket, or having to park half a mile from your apartment. Renting a parking space close to your OU rental is really the best choice – and your parents would probably agree, too.
KPR Provides Several Parking Options for its Tenants
We know how important having nearby access to your car every day is. And by “nearby access,” we mean on-site at your OU rental, or just a few steps away. You don’t want to be going on a hike every time you need to run to E State for groceries. We’ve done our best to offer the best-kept and best-located apartments in and around uptown Athens, while also taking care to ensure there are parking options nearby for our tenants.
Depending on the rental property you choose, there might be an on-site lot where tenants get first pick of parking rental spaces; and/or a rental parking lot nearby; or, for some of our Athens rental homes, free parking is even included in the lease. Yes, guaranteed, private parking spaces are in high demand in Athens, but that unorganized city layout that resulted in a parking shortage also resulted in a bunch of little lots you might not know are there to take advantage of. But don’t worry – we do; and we’ve saved a bunch of them for our tenants!
Feel free to search and filter our Athens rental properties; each listing includes comprehensive photos of the layout and features of the unit, and many have their own little video tour. Go ahead; take a look around!