Making the most of a small mixed-use site
Planned for an infill site in Edmond, Oklahoma, a development offers an urban mix of residential, work, and entertainment on less than a half acre.
In addition to a four-story commercial building anchoring the corner, the plan includes a range of smaller building types, including three live-work units, two 10-foot-wide townhouses (the narrowest in Oklahoma), a micro-retail space, and accessory dwellings.
The townhouses call to mind similarly narrow houses in places like Alexandria or Philadelphia that are delightful curiosities from the street. However, narrow townhouses are dark inside because the outside light doesn’t penetrate enough to the middle of the unit. These Edmond townhouses work better because one side faces a courtyard, which means that side windows offer plenty of light and air. From the front, they are cute.
“The owner-developer, Matthew Myers of Switchgrass Capital, intends to retain ownership of the townhouses for short-term rentals,” says architect Donald Powers of Union Studio. “He felt that giving those units a funky, fun vibe would make them appealing in the Airbnb market where customers are looking for unusual, unique properties.”
Union Studio and AMC Architecture won an Urban Guild Award for Design Exploration on Friday. (Disclosure: I was on the jury, along with Sara Bega of Bega Design Studio, Rock Bell, East Beach Development, and Andrew Von Maur, a design consultant and professor at Andrews University.)
The 0.43-acre site is located at the north end of downtown on Broadway, the main thoroughfare in a city of 94,000 adjacent to Oklahoma City. The team worked with the City of Edmond to redesign one of the adjacent streets to include 10-foot travel lanes, parallel parking, street trees, and sidewalks. The diverse buildings define the public realm at a key commercial corner, while creating a fine-grain network of internal courtyards and common spaces.
The plan includes a paseo under a portion of a live-work building, leading to a courtyard with a micro-retail space. Another courtyard is placed between the narrow townhouses, and an existing alley is detailed to make it more inviting. These spaces open the streetscape and block to intimate public space.
“Matthew recognizes the appeal of intimate urban spaces, especially in Edmond, which has a reputation for being progressive and funky. He very much wanted to create an intimate outdoor space that would add value to the restaurant, the renters of the townhouses, and the owners of the live-work, as well as being a place that can be ‘discovered’ by pedestrians,” Powers says.
Metal is used on the first floor of many buildings, including small commercial spaces. The upper floors are brick. The 10,000-square-foot commercial mixed-use building has rooftop space for a restaurant/bar, which looks like a cool hangout.
According to the designers, the project pushes boundaries in zoning and building codes and engineering requirements, and construction begins in 2024.
