From small surfaces to city's largest parking lots, how ongoing maintenance can save property owners in long run

This piece is sponsored by Journey Group.

With the most visited property in Sioux Falls, it’s not surprising The Empire Mall’s parking lot sees its share of wear and tear.

But by committing to a regular maintenance program, the mall is able to take positive steps toward a smoother ride every year.

“Just because of the size of our property, we always put in for capital improvements for the parking lot, and typically we get it approved,” general manager Dan Gies said.

In early June, the mall will work with Black-Top Paving, a division of Journey Group, on one of the biggest maintenance projects it has undertaken in recent years.

“We’re going to finish most of the north parking lot, and we’ve been doing it over time,” Gies said. “This will be between Red Robin and JCPenney, and then we’re going to do the entrance just west of Empire Place and then the outer ring road that connects that area all the way down to the second entrance.”

It’s a big undertaking, but Black-Top Paving is aiming to complete all the work in a week.

“We always put our projects to bid, and they don’t win every time, but most of the time they do,” Gies said.

“They meet with us on-site, we talk through it, and they’re very thorough in their bid, including all the striping and planning and traffic control that goes with it, so there are no surprises. They keep in mind that people come here to shop and do other things, and we have to be sensitive to that. We can count on the fact they execute on their promises.”

Five-Star Call Centers has been enjoying the benefit of an improved parking lot for the past several months. After moving into a new building in the fall of 2022, the company knew the parking lot needed maintenance and got bids for the work last spring.

“Black-Top Paving had a competitive bid and good communication throughout the process,” chief operating officer Troy Holt said. “It took them two days to complete the project, and they were very good to work with. They were there when they said they would be, and the project was completed on time.”

The work turned out “better than expected,” he added. “I would highly recommend Black-Top Paving.”

The warm start to spring has allowed Black-Top Paving to tackle a number of projects already and begin taking on more.

“We encourage property owners to commit to regular maintenance,” president Ryan Kerkvliet said. “You might think it’s just a parking lot, but if you don’t take care of it, repairs can turn into a big deal and get pretty spendy.”

Here’s your easy guide to maintaining parking lots, sidewalks and any other asphalt and concrete surfaces around your business.

If your surface is fairly new: 2- to 3-year maintenance cycle

Whether your parking lot is new or has been in place a few years, Black-Top Paving would recommend getting on a maintenance cycle of every two to three years to keep things in check and not allow too much deterioration between repairs.

“I compare your parking lot to the same preventative maintenance you’d do on a vehicle,” Kerkvliet said.

“Every 5,000 miles, you change the oil. So it’s the same here. Every two or three years, we should look for cracks that need to be sealed because you don’t want to start getting moisture into the subgrade. We would also look at seal coating the asphalt surface and restriping the parking lines if needed. Typically, the concrete surfaces don’t take as much maintenance, but we also evaluate all the site concrete, looking for any joints that may need to be sealed or any areas that may have broken or settled.”

The Black-Top Paving team can do an easy evaluation, and “this level of maintenance is a fraction of the cost of having to remove and replace a parking lot,” Kerkvliet said. “It’s usually work we can do in a day or two.”

Regular basic maintenance like this could double the life of a parking lot, he said.

If your surface is starting to age

After three years, Black-Top Paving often will suggest a seal coat to again seal cracks and coat the aggregate.

“It will look great too,” Kerkvliet said. “If it were me, I would do this every three years to seal cracks and restripe.”

If you’ve done little to no maintenance

If your parking lot has gone 10 years without maintenance, you’re likely looking at some major mill and overlay work. Extend out to 15 years, and it’s likely you’ll be removing and replacing your lot.

“We generally can do a mill and overlay in a week because asphalt is a pretty quick process. It basically just has to cool, and then you stripe it and use it,” Kerkvliet said. “At the mall, we’ll do mill for two days and pave two days, and they can be open by the weekend, so it can be a pretty quick process.”

Replacements take more time, though Black-Top Paving has the capacity to take them on.

“But remember that a lot of times, we have to get city approval to do that work through zoning and permitting, and that requires an engineer-stamped drawing,” Kerkvliet said. “If they’ve changed zoning requirements, we may have to add green spaces, we may have to change setbacks or add trees, so that usually adds dollars to a project.”

To learn more

Connect with Black-Top Paving for an evaluation and to reserve your spot on the 2025 schedule. Visit here to learn more.