This is apparently Seattle’s first transit-oriented development (TOD). If it gets better than this with TODs so come, hold on to your seats, you’re in for a fun ride.

The starting point is a 9-acre parking lot (left of photo), pretty much your standard building block in many U.S. cities, though adjacent to a major bus transfer station with planned light rail access, which means walkable urban village development is a natural next step. However, one half of what makes this a model for the rest

read more…

The vast majority of large-scale mixed-use development projects in the past have been predominantly national-chain retail. With the rise of the conscious consumer however, that rigid investment formula is beginning to crack, such as with The Piazza in Philadelphia and now with The Triangle in Austin, Texas, a 22-acre mixed-use urban infill development of 529 apartments, 150 condos and 120,000 s.f. of retail.

Not surprisingly, it was initially planned as a typical shopping center with national

read more…

What’s the key to revitalizing a downtown and/or neighborhood via urban development?

First off, a couple of definitions.

- Small urban infill in real estate development typically refers to mixed-use urban infill ‘far fewer than 100 housing units and 10,000 s.f. of commercial space on less than an acre.‘
- Natural cultural districts are the kinds of neighborhoods creatives desire.

Based on Ten Principles for Small-Size Infill in the article Little Infill by Sam Newberg in Urban Land

read more…

The first thought may be when looking at this photo may be, ‘So what, it’s a Safeway!‘ But there’s more to the story here from both a placemaking and local independent retail point of view. It’s about a shifting of priorities for large companies, prioritizing people and community over cars and product.

Placemaking: What used to be on this site was your typical single story Safeway with a large surface parking lot in front of it, like you see in suburbia. The problem was, this is located in

read more…

What do you do with an abandoned city-owned 68-acre parking lot and arena in downtown Orlando, Flordia? Mayor Buddy Dyer would like it to focus on growing the area’s creative economy as a creative industries urban village, appointing a Downtown Orlando Creative Village Concept Team in August 2006 to get the party started. Now why can’t it be this easy more often…

The creative village vision statement: “The Creative Village will be a magnet for knowledge workers to live, work, learn and play -

read more…

Regular readers may be familiar with the East College Street Project, a sustainable urban village in Oberlin, Ohio proposed in 2002 by three graduate students, now known as Sustainable Community Associates. Check out previous entries about the project from 2009, 2006, 2005 and 2004.

It’s such a great story, that we’re continuing to tell it. Here’s what’s been happening since the past year, according to Josh Rosen, one of the founding three. It’s even framed with the same questions as last

read more…

Looks like the creative industries will have a vibrant home in Swansea (pop. 220,000), Wales, in the UK,

The Welsh government recently approved the plan for a $38 million urban village on High Street, bounded by The Strand and Kings Lane streets, with shops, offices, restaurants and attainably-priced apartments organized around courtyards. The area is reportedly largely derelict, boarded up or demolished, though it strategically connects the train station to the city center.

The developer,

read more…

Sometimes a giant supermarket or big box store like Home Depot coming to your neighborhood is an inevitability, but The RISE in Vancouver, Canada proves it doesn’t have to be a one-story warehouse surrounded by parking. Instead, the parking is buried underground with over 90 condos and townhouses above. That’s right, when have you ever heard of residences above a big box?

No, this is certainly not an example of elegant, attractive design, but hey, baby steps. Developed by Grosvenor Canada,

read more…

Would you live, work or play here? For many creatives, the answer would be yes, yes and yes.  What makes Portland’s Burnside Rocket the kind of building they want to see more of?

On the outside…
1. It’s expressive, authentic and unique. It isn’t called the Rocket for nothing. From the red exterior to the art panel shutters representing 24 emerging local artists, you won’t find anything like it… in the world, really.
2. It’s human-scaled. Framed construction vs high-rise concrete. People don’t

read more…

The City of Lowell, Massachusetts is committed to growing its creative economy.

An historic downtown canal will be the centerpiece of the Hamilton Canal District, a new 15-acre, transit-oriented, mixed-use neighborhood. Renovated historic mills will be integrated with one million s.f. of new construction to provide loft apartments and condominiums, shops, offices and public parks.  The development follows LEED ND (Neighborhood Development) principles, 30% of the buildings will be LEED

read more…