Jeff Karp - LAZ Parking
Jeff Karp is the President and Co-Founder of LAZ Parking LLC, the largest privately held parking operator in the country. Jeff founded LAZ Parking in 1981 and LAZ currently operates over 4,000 locations, in 452 cities and 41 states across the country. With a dedicated and passionate employee base of over 14,000 strong committed to a superior customer service experience, LAZ has been propelled into being a leader in its field. With $2.0 billion in annual revenue, LAZ Parking strives for a best in class culture, focused on conscious capitalism rooted within ESG and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Jeff is also a Founder and Principal Partner in LAZ Parking Reality Investors (LPRI), a vertically integrated real estate platform focused on parking assets nationally. Their mission is to identify, diligence, and acquire parking assets nationwide; finding opportunities to add value through experienced ownership and operation. LPRI’s experience extends over virtually every type of parking asset, from simple surface lots to complex mixed-use garages, and includes assets whose primary demand comes from office, retail, residential, hotels, sporting events and airports.
In addition to his business affiliations, Jeff is an active civic leader and strong supporter and board member of various charitable organizations such as the Special Olympics, Chabad House, Jewish Big Brother Big Sister, Crossroads for Kids, Save the Harbor, National Parking Association, Anti-Defamation League, Combined Jewish Philanthropies, Meriting Attention, and the American Cancer Society.
We really enjoyed our discussion with Jeff, and the story behind the LAZ Parking empire did not disappoint. As discussed during the interview, it seems we can't travel a block or two without coming across a LAZ location. Jeff was candid in sharing the many highs and lows of his entrepreneurial journey, which he has been on alongside his two co-founders who happen to be his boyhood best friends. We learned a lot from Jeff about the operational side of parking business, a sector in which our Boston capital markets team has been increasingly active over the past several years and one that intrigues many real estate practitioners.
For more info on LAZ Parking, please visit: www.lazparking.com
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Tom Greeley
https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasgreeley/
Mike Greeley
