Impact on Rents <br />The amount that a building owner is able to rent a space for has a direct impact on the property <br />value. <br />■ Effect on office rents: <br />Nelson et al. (2012) analyzed the effect of proximity to BRT with commercial property <br />values, within one-half mile of BRT lines in Cleveland, Eugene- Springfield, Kansas <br />City, Las Vegas, and Pittsburgh. They found that in all cases, BRT proximity confers an <br />office space asking rent premium ranging from $1.57 per square foot (Pittsburgh) to <br />$4.81 per square foot (Las Vegas) representing 9% to 30% of the variation in asking <br />rents, respectively.36 <br />Looking specifically at office properties outside downtowns and within a half -mile of <br />BRT stations, Nelson (2016) found a rent premium of 1.3% - less than half the premium <br />for office properties in downtown settings adjacent to BRT identified in the same study <br />(2.9%).37 <br />Effect on retail rents: Nelson (2016) found a positive impact (10.4% premium) on retail <br />rents within a half -mile of BRT stations in a downtown setting, but not for properties <br />outside a downtown area .38 <br />Effect on multifamily rents: In looking at 20 metropolitan counties with high-capacity <br />transit systems, Nelson and Ganning (2015) found that multifamily units within one half <br />mile of a BRT corridor had a 3.7% premium over units outside of those corridors. This is <br />compared with a 4.4% premium for light rail transit and 8.0% premium for streetcar <br />transit. The study controlled for age of building, recent renovations and other physical <br />form variables; however, it did not disaggregate downtown properties from those <br />outside a downtown in the multifamily model. Given that the other models found less <br />rent impact outside downtowns, this could be true for multifamily rents as well.39 <br />36 Nelson et al. 2012. <br />37 Nelson 2016. <br />38 Ibid. <br />39 Nelson, Arthur C., and Joanna Ganning. 2015. 'National Study of BRT Development Outcomes." National Institute <br />for Transportation and Communities (NITC). <br />ECONorthwest 42 <br />215 <br />