When a property manager calls us about a parking lot, the first question is almost always the same: *"What do you charge per square foot?"* It's the right question — commercial paving really is priced per square foot — but any contractor who answers with a single number before seeing your lot is guessing, or worse, planning to make the number work by cutting something you can't see.
Biran Paving Group is a licensed and insured paving company based in Dunwoody with 15+ years and 500+ projects across Metro Atlanta. This guide explains what the per-square-foot number actually contains, what the honest industry ranges look like, and how to compare bids so a low number doesn't turn into an expensive lot.
The honest per-square-foot ranges
These are broad national industry ranges from published 2025–2026 cost guides — useful for budgeting, not a quote. Metro Atlanta pricing generally tracks these bands, and where your project lands depends entirely on site conditions:
- New asphalt parking lot (full-depth construction): roughly $3–$8 per square foot, with large, open, truck-accessible lots trending toward the lower end and small or complex sites toward the top.
- Mill & overlay (resurfacing over a sound base): roughly $1.50–$4 per square foot — often the smartest money in commercial paving when the foundation is still good. See our mill & pave overlay service.
- Full reconstruction (remove everything, rebuild the base): the highest per-foot cost, reserved for lots where the base has failed.
The only way to know which category your lot is in — and where in the range it falls — is a site visit. That's not a sales line; it's how the math works.
Why the range is so wide
Two lots with identical square footage can be priced thousands of dollars apart. The drivers:
- Asphalt thickness and mix spec. A lot that carries passenger cars needs less section than one taking daily box-truck deliveries or dumpster trucks. Thickness is the single biggest material variable.
- Base condition. The aggregate base under the asphalt does the structural work. Georgia's clay-heavy soils hold moisture and move, so base prep matters here more than in many markets — and skipping it is how cheap bids get cheap.
- Economies of scale. Mobilization, trucking, and setup cost roughly the same whether the crew paves 10,000 or 60,000 square feet. Bigger lots almost always price lower per foot.
- Demolition and hauling. Removing failed asphalt or old concrete adds real cost before new material ever arrives.
- Drainage. Standing water kills asphalt. If the lot needs regrading, new structures, or curb work, that's in the price.
- Phasing and hours. Keeping a retail center or apartment community open during work means sections, traffic control, and sometimes night shifts — all of which cost more than paving an empty lot in one pass.
What's usually not in the per-square-foot number
When you compare bids, confirm whether each includes:
- Line striping and pavement markings, including ADA-compliant stalls, aisles, and signage
- Concrete work — curbs, gutters, dumpster pads, sidewalk transitions
- Drainage structures and adjustments to existing castings
- Permits and traffic control
- Repairs discovered during milling (soft spots, base failures)
A bid that looks 20% cheaper but excludes striping and ADA work isn't cheaper. Line-item transparency is the fastest way to spot the difference.
The math property managers should actually run
Sticker price per square foot is the wrong finish line. The better metric is cost per year of service life. A properly built lot with a real base and correct thickness, maintained on schedule, can serve 20+ years. A corner-cut lot can start failing in three to five — and then you pay for paving twice.
The same logic applies after construction: crack sealing and sealcoating cost pennies per square foot compared to the dollars per square foot of an overlay, which is why a structured maintenance program is the cheapest thing you'll ever do to your pavement budget.
How to get a real number
A legitimate commercial paving quote in Atlanta starts with someone walking your lot — measuring, checking drainage, and assessing the base — and ends with a written scope you can compare line by line. Biran Paving Group provides exactly that, and with Michael's Asphalt now operating alongside us, we have the crews and capacity to phase larger commercial projects without leaving your lot half-finished.
Call (678) 332-8941 or email biranpaving@gmail.com for a free site visit and a real per-square-foot number for your property — plus our COI on request. Details on scope and process are on our parking lot paving service page.