Cities, developers scramble to add chargers at apartments, condos

Nov 02, 2024

As electric vehicle sales reach records for a fifth consecutive year — U.S. registrations rose 18% in August, reaching 8.6% of vehicle sales so far in 2024 versus 7.5% a year earlier, according to data from S&P Global Mobility — the need for chargers in apartments, condos and townhouses rises with them.

Charging at home overnight, frequently at a reduced rate, is the most convenient, efficient and economical way to use an EV. Department of Energy data show about 80% of daily EV charging happens either at home or at work, using 240-volt current.

The solution for homeowners is easy: They can install an EV charger.

But the roughly 30% of U.S. residents living in condos, townhouses and apartment often must go to other locations and pay higher rates for high-powered fast-charging.

“Most potential EV owners need convenient access to charging at home for their daily commutes and regular trips around town,” said Loren McDonald of EV charging analytics firm Paren. “Without that, buying an EV may not be practical for them.”

And for landlords looking to attract future residents or serve the ones they have, leasing property without EV chargers is leaving money on the table. One industry expert said EV access today is an amenity that should not be overlooked, like Wi-Fi.

While most EV owners treat their car like their smartphones — charging when they get home, leaving with a full battery — a surprising number live in multiunit dwellings that don’t offer charging.

There’s no data on it, but the banks of high-powered DC fast chargers are nearly always full at my local Meijer stores. Some EV owners have even changed their shopping habits, picking up groceries and the like in the 20-30 minutes their vehicles charge at the high-powered hookups.

Building developers, municipalities and utilities are developing a number of strategies to make it easier for EV owners who live in multiunit dwellings to charge at home.

“Developers find they can increase property prices and rent” in buildings that offer convenient charging, said Thom Kubeshesky Jr., vice president of Red E Charge, a Detroit-based company currently working on projects at 460 sites in 32 states.

“Demand is growing. Residents increasingly expect charging,” he said. “Developments that don’t offer charging will fall behind.”

Red E Charge does everything from site inspection for existing buildings to new developments, the Detroit Police Department’s electric parking enforcement vehicles and recently installing a charger for the school district of rural Armada, Michigan.

Vehicle charging is expected in new multiunit luxury housing, said Brett Yuhasz, vice president of construction at Farmington Hills, Michigan, developer Hunter Pasteur.

“We’re responding to what the customer wants,” he said. “One of the first questions we get is, ‘What can you do to charge my car?' When you think of luxury living and what it takes to be No. 1 in metro Detroit, EV charging is 1A or 1B. Like high-speed internet.”

The first couple to move into Hunter Pasteur’s new Apex luxury development in West Bloomfield, which says it offers 40 EV chargers, own a Tesla, Yuhasz said. “Clearly, we’re do something right.”

It’s relatively easy to provide plenty of 240-volt, or Level 2, charging when designing a new building, Yuhasz said.

“You want to plan for the future, have the power infrastructure in place for growth so there’s an easy, seamless route for five or 10 years from now when you want to add more chargers.

“That’s where all the trends are going.”

DTE, the main electricity provider in Detroit, is installing wiring for chargers in hundreds of new units of affordable housing in the city.

“We’re looking to support the change in behavior where you no longer go looking for gasoline — the energy comes to you,” said Milena Marku, DTE manager of EV education and incentives.

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While new developments in the city of Detroit routinely offer EV charging, offering the service for residents of older buildings and people who rent houses presents a different challenge, said Tim Slusser, Detroit chief mobility officer.

“The rate of EV ownership in the city of Detroit is low now, but we believe it will increase with more access to charging,” he said.

Detroit is working to get at least one or two chargers in existing multiunit developments, offering help figuring out the cost, but avoiding mandates. “There are a lot of logistical challenges for existing buildings,” Slusser said.

To that end, Detroit wants to add DC fast chargers around the city with the goal of making charging stations with multiple kiosks convenient to existing multiunit developments.

“That way, it won’t matter where you live in Detroit. You’ll never be more than three to five miles from a DC fast charger, and you’ll have several locations to choose from," he said. "We want to partner with companies that have locations nearby so people can grab coffee, relax, check their email while charging. People want amenities.”

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The city will own and operate the chargers, so local businesses could expect more customers without investing in the expensive DC chargers. Chargers could also be located at city facilities with extensive hours, like rec centers.

DTE is also involved in Detroit's program to adds DCFCs.

Contact Mark Phelan: 313-222-6731 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @mark_phelan. Read more on autos and sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.