Don’t Expect Any Changes After the Worst Parking Lot Company in Portland, Maine, is Sold

It wasn't that long ago when Portland, Maine, was an affordable place to park your car. Tourism wasn't at the levels it is now, hotels and condos weren't nearly as in-demand, and there were plenty of supply of surface lots and parking garage spaces to be had.

That supply and demand led consumers to enjoy cheaper prices. Portland had a Boston-like feel without the insanely high price of parking. But times change, and the savings that many residents, workers, and visitors enjoyed are long gone.

If you ask many of those residents, workers, and visitors, part of the problem has been a parking lot management company called Unified Parking Partners. UPP currently operates many of the commercial, for-profit lots throughout the city. Some are small, and others are quite large.

According to MaineBiz, the company has been sold to a Philadelphia-based company, Towne Park, looking to expand their portfolio in the world of commercial parking lots. But if the idea of Portland, Maine, ridding themselves of UPP puts a smile on your face, it won't last long.

While Towne Park has acquired Unified Parking Partners, they don't plan to make any changes to operations. That includes the brand name, leadership, and practices that have made UPP the most despised parking lot management company in Maine.

Over many years, UPP has accumulated plenty of online rage from people who received boots or had their car towed from a UPP-managed lot. The complaints piled up so high that the company was forced to "relax" some of their aggressive practices a few years back.

UPP has recently irritated customers by introducing a dynamic pricing model in some of their commercial lots. The busier the day, the more UPP will charge per hour.

Unfortunately, for those who live, work, and play in Portland, nothing is likely to change.