The garage, which is near Seinfeld s Upper West Side apartment, reportedly has parking for 15 to 20 autos and boasts Italian terrazzo tiles, a carpeted office, a kitchenette, a bathroom with shower, and an outdoor deck. Seinfeld s indulgence may seem extreme, but in luxury homes across the United States, garages are shrugging off their utilitarian reputation and evolving into feature-loaded, versatile extensions of the home. While architects and home builders once considered the garage the least expensive square footage of the house, that s not always the case now, and garages are holding more and more vehicles. Sixteen percent of the new homes built in 1999 had garages for three or more cars, up from 13 percent in 1995, according to the National Association of Home Builders. And a greater percent of the more spacious and expensive homes have large garages.
Builders cite a number of different reasons for garages growing popularity.
Ill. For one car collector, Stephani is working on a garage with four doors, plus a lift to fit a fifth car. But the project is modest compared to some of the homes Stephani has seen.