City Park: The San Francisco Treat


In 1953, brothers Nicholas and Stephan Leonoudakis opened


their first parking lot in the area of San Francisco now known as the Embar- cadero Center. Also according to the


company history posted on its website (www.cityparksf.com), “once the success of that first lot took hold, the brothers were in full pursuit of a dream – turning under-utilized prop- erties into safe, efficient and profitable parking facilities.” Stephan, a practicing attorney,


drafted the company’s first lease for parking operations that would charge 50¢ for all-day parking. Shortly there- after, San Francisco Parking Inc. (dba City Park) was born. Over the next nearly 60 years, City


Park would develop a high-perfor- mance operating model designed to deliver high-end valet and transporta- tion solutions for the top office, hotel and commercial properties throughout San Francisco. The company’s core philosophy


from its inception had been to embrace a local family business/boutique model to be the absolute best at parking system operations, with a laser-like focus on San Francisco exclusively. As a result, City Park has become the No. 1 provider of parking and transportation shuttle serv- ices in the Bay Area, with more than 650 employees, 75 properties and a fleet of 120 “green” buses. Its client list has grown to include a variety of top compa-


nies, including dot-com leaders such as Google, Facebook and Genentech. Its parking properties serve an extensive array of Class A office facilities with facilities such as Union Square Garage, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Garage and the Music Center Concourse Garage. Twenty five-star proper- ties (including the Four Seasons, Fairmont, St. Regis and St. Francis hotels) and event parking for the San Francisco 49ers round out its business relationships. Akey strategic initiative fuel-


vide the highest levels of accountability in the cash-centric park- ing business. “As a cash business, it is critically important to produce doc-


umentation on every transaction and to audit, audit and audit,” says Vice President and General Manager Chris Leonoudakis. “Our ‘best practices’ targeting technology initiatives have included fully automating self-park garages, installing pay-on-foot facilities with credit card ingress/egress, and most recently, introducing control room technology providing one-person over- sight of up to five self-park locations at one time.” The company says that “the founda-


tion of its success has been rooted in its hiring of the best and the brightest peo- ple throughout its operations, including marketing, financial and administrative support. It has recruited top industry leaders from all over the country,” the company says, “with more than 135 years of senior management skills to keep our organization focused on con- tinuous improvement programs and a strategic plan that contribute to our exponential growth year after year.” CEO Tim Leonoudakis is President


Citypark CEO Tim Leonoudakis and company valet Angel Yap.


of the San Francisco Parking Association (SFPA). Its mission is threefold: (1) to advocate for the parking industry with city government to hold the line on parking taxes, congestion pricing and legislation that may adversely impact the industry; (2) to work closely with the labor unions to ensure a fair, level play-


ing field for all operators; and (3) to promote the highest perform- ance standards within the parking industry. “Green initiatives” head up City Park’s most recent strate-


Its CEO drives the first Chevy Volt in San Francisco as his official commute vehicle.)


ing City Park’s growth over the years, the company says, has been its dedicated commitment to learning and incorporating the core values necessary for deliver- ing five-star customer service. As a part of this effort, the compa- ny hired a Human Resources “customer service” expert with 15 years of experience in the hotel industry to help adopt and train its team to deliver outstanding service at the five-star level. The company notes it now serves 20 of the 30 five-star properties in San Francisco with its ongoing site and managerial service cul- ture in place supporting its top hotel clients. City Park says its progress also has been tied to an ongoing investment in implementing state-of-the-art technologies to pro-


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gic effort, the company says, as it has rolled out a fleet of 120 compressed natural gas (CNG) buses to provide shuttle services on the Google, Facebook and Genentech campuses. The state- of-the-art coaches have onboard Wi-Fi connectivity and related digital amenities. City Park says its “green”


culture includes installation of EV charging stations at 10 hotel and office properties in San Francisco


and building a field of solar collectors atop company headquar- ters. (Its CEO drives the first Chevy Volt in San Francisco as his official commute vehicle.) Having established what its executives call “a high-perfor-


mance company culture that includes the most skilled people aligned and focused on the key strategies embracing top tech- nologies and five-star service,” City Park’s family-owned busi- ness continues to expand operations by being awarded new loca- tions each year and has become, its executives say, “one of San Francisco’s largest providers of professional parking services.”


PT Parking Today www.parkingtoday.com


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