Feature: Vertical Integration

Christian Gulliksen

August 1, 2007

Now awash in accoutrements once reserved for game rooms—checkered floors, custom cabinets, flat-screen televisions, bars and memorabilia—the garage has experienced a stunning transformation, from utilitarian afterthought to recreational hangout. But serious collectors still yearn for something more: space.

The Phantom Park system has two primary functions: storing cars in subterranean bays and acting as a ramp alternative for underground garages. (Click images to enlarge)

In neighborhoods from Manhattan to Malibu—where real estate agents consider 40 or 50 feet of street frontage an extravagance—residents barely have enough room for their everyday vehicles, let alone the Gullwing or Miura. Then, there are upscale communities where design boards would sooner approve a zebra-stripe paint job than a sprawling 10-car garage.

When such circumstances rule out lateral expansion, enthusiasts could be forgiven for considering a commercial district’s warehouse their only storage option. But they would be wrong. Because even if a garage can’t spread out, it can go up—or down.

According to Brad Davies, president of American Custom Lifts, customer demand drove the development of the Phantom Park subterranean lift. "We got calls from clients who needed solutions for parking," he says. "Architects would say, ‘I have this project—I don’t know if you can help me.’" Often designing houses for narrow oceanfront lots, they also faced onerous height restrictions—30 feet in some cases. Because owners wanted living space above the garage, there was no place to go, but down.

Davies responded with the Phantom Lift, which lowers cars into an underground bay. Platforms may be placed as closely as one inch apart, and built even in areas with a high water table. "When it’s down, you don’t even know there’s a lift in your garage," he says. "With others there are guide rails, but we provide a seamless surface that matches the floor covering. And if the garage’s ceiling is high enough, you can leave the top car in place while retrieving the lower car."

The lift can also serve as a space-efficient ramp alternative for access to a larger subterranean garage—particularly advantageous in downtown neighborhoods or historic districts, where a ramp might be impossible to install. Although most clients place the lift in their garage, a Phantom Park can be used almost anywhere. Davies notes that a current project will position a lift in the middle of a driveway. As with his other lifts, it will be virtually impossible to detect when closed.

American Custom Lifts offers the Phantom Park in four standard models, but Davies says most installations depart from these specifications. "Some clients might need lifts that support seven-, eight- or ten-thousand pounds, with different platform sizes," he says. And there’s no need to think conservatively when considering dimensions. "We can even do this for motorhomes," Davies adds. The cost of a Phantom Lift starts around $40,000, before installation costs, and rises depending on the degree of personalization.

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