Neotraditional projects proliferate in many parts of the US

A glance at any local newsstand confirms that consumers are becoming more aware of the trend toward traditional neighborhood developments (TNDs). Southern Living, the nation’s largest regional magazine, and Better Homes and Gardens both include articles on TNDs in their September, 1997, issues. A similar article appeared in Home magazine in June. Disney’s town of Celebration near Orlando is appearing nearly everywhere in the media -- much like Seaside, Florida, a few years back. Fortunately for TND proponents, Celebration photographs well and, a little over a year after the first residents arrived, is standing up to scrutiny. Celebration’s Mayberry-like cleanliness and Disney’s renown as a mass marketer of fantasy have diverted attention from the development’s urban design. But even critics are forced to admit that Celebration is walkable, comfortable and has a “friendly” feel. “I like the place,” admits Boston Globe writer Robert Campbell. “You’re not supposed to, really. Not if you want to be hip.” If anything, the residents look and sound too happy -- so relieved are they to move out of suburban subdivisions (for a personal view on living in Celebration, see page 3 of this issue of New Urban News). Nationwide, TNDs are proliferating. According to New Urban News’ latest survey, there are 63 under construction in the U.S., up from 50 last November (see table of projects, beginning on page ?). Many projects are in groundbreaking or very early stages of construction. Thirty to 35 are built to the extent that visitors can get a feel for how they look and function. That represents a marked increase over a year ago, when only about 20 had reached that stage. The table lists a total of 137 projects -- including those in the planning stage. Ten months ago, 119 TNDs were listed. Thirty new projects are tallied -- indicating that plenty of neotraditional design and planning is currently underway. About a dozen projects have been scratched off the list for a variety of reasons (e.g. approval and/or financing was denied, or the developer lost interest). This report assesses the status of neotraditional developments, i.e. new towns and neighborhoods, throughout the U.S. Part of the New Urbanism movement, TNDs generally include a mix of uses and housing types, an interconnected street network, a town center, formal civic spaces and pedestrian-oriented design. Small projects that lack several of these elements -- even if they feature good urban design -- are not included. Regional transformations Regionally, there are pockets where high visibility new urbanist projects are being built. Locally, they are offering consumers a new living option, serving as examples and creating neotraditional benchmarks in the real estate market. By and large, these development are pioneers, surrounded mainly by suburban sprawl. About half of all TNDs -- including most of the best examples -- are under construction or groundbreaking within 600 miles of Seaside, Florida, the nation’s first neotraditional development. Seaside itself continues to develop and improve. A charter school is now under construction and two more mixed-use town center buildings soon will be underway. The 80-acre town is about 85 percent complete. The Florida panhandle, where Seaside is located, may be the only place in the U.S. where neotraditional development holds sway over the real estate market. Seaside has been so successful that even nearby conventional projects imitate the vertically proportioned, clapboard, steel-roofed, neoVictorian buildings of Robert Davis’ TND. Rosemary Beach, which has studiously avoided copying the neoVictorian architectural style, is the only true TND to come along, after Seaside, on the Panhandle. It is the hottest project in that region with more than 100 lot sales since it opened in the spring of 1996. Residents must build within two years of buying lots, so Rosemary Beach will come out of the ground relatively quickly. The St. Joe Corp., the state’s biggest landowner with 800,000 acres mostly on the Panhandle, is selling off its paper pulp business and getting into real estate. The firm has announced plans to build a TND along the lines of Seaside and Celebration -- perhaps adjacent to Seaside. About a 100 miles to the west of Seaside is Tannin, in Orange Beach, Alabama. A project designed by Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company (DPZ), like Seaside and Rosemary Beach, Tannin is slow to develop. It started construction in 1989, and 20 homes have been built. Even though Tannin is close to the beach, it is less of a resort than Seaside, and has no town center to draw tourists. That’s about to change, because the town center will be under construction this fall. Developer George Gounares has taken a low-key approach to marketing and development. “The appreciation rate of the land is very high,” he explains. “We make more money if we don’t sell lots than if we do.” Although Gounares must sell lots, ultimately, to make money, he reports a 28 percent appreciation in prices in recent years. Lots now are selling for $22/square foot, while beachfront property across the highway from Tannin is garnering only $7/square foot, he reports. That’s remarkable in an area where beach frontage usually is the most important real estate attribute. Florida remains the most active state in terms of neotraditional development, with nine TNDs under construction and one breaking ground. Haile Village Center in Gainesville has one of the best main street commercial districts of any TND. Nearly 40 businesses are operating in Haile, with apartments and offices above. Prior to adopting an ordinance allowing TNDs earlier this year, city officials in Jacksonville, Florida, visited Celebration and Haile. They came away more impressed with Haile, because it is viewed as a “real world” project. No big name architects were hired, and the developer, Haile Plantation Corp., does not have the deep pockets of Disney. Only three years after opening, Haile Village Center is developing the character of a real town. “I know the people who come in by their first names, and I can look up and down the street and tell you who is in each building,” says Lynda Maxey, the proprietor of the Village Market, a grocery store in Haile. “This is a community, and it is wonderful to have that in your life.” Abacoa, a project with the potential impact approaching that of Celebration, is in Jupiter, southeast Florida. During the last year and a half $30 million in site improvements have been under construction. The first buildings now are beginning to rise, and homes are scheduled to be available by the end of 1997. Abacoa was master planned by Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company, Calthorpe Associates and Elizabeth Moule and Stefanos Polyzoides, all founders of the Congress for the New Urbanism. The project includes a spring training stadium and facility for the Montreal Expos and St. Louis Cardinals, integrated into the town center. A campus of Florida Atlantic University also is central to Abacoa’s plan. DiVosta Homes, which is building all of the 4,100 single family homes (townhomes and detached), is anticipating sales of between 300 and 500 a year for the next six years. Home prices start at $117,900 for townhomes and go all the way up to $329,900 for the top-of-the-line singles. More than 4,000 people have registered for a lottery to purchase the first 188 units, says Rick Greene of DiVosta. New projects near Chicago Years of neotraditional planning are coming to fruition in the Chicago area, as four TNDs began construction in 1997. All these projects are in the very early stage. The 110-acre Centennial Crossing, by Town & Country Homes, is getting good architectural reviews. The large regional homebuilder apparently has learned from its involvement in Disney’s Celebration. Located in Vernon Hills, Illinois, Centennial Crossing is highly visible, adjacent to a major arterial. The project also is next to a new rail transit stop, which should help to make it a financial success, according to Charles Hanlon of Land Planning Services, the project planner. “A lot of people are watching this project, and if it is successful it could be a catalyst,” Hanlon says. “In a few years, we may even be able to offer a TND tour in the Chicago area.” Oswego Village Square, Mill Creek Village Center, and The Settlement in the Fox Mill development also are coming out of the ground. The latter two projects are neotraditional sections of larger master-planned communities -- similar to Haile Village Center in Florida (although it remains to be seen whether the architectural quality will match Haile). For Hanlon, whose firm has long been a proponent of New Urbanism in the Chicago area, persistence is finally paying off. “I’m not a naturally patient man, but I’ve had to learn patience,” he says. “We’re two months away from being able to drive clients down to Vernon Hills, instead of fly them to Memphis (to Harbor Town), to see a decent streetscape. Not that we don’t have great old towns around here -- but developers need to see houses recently built and sold before they believe it can be done.” Memphis, home of inner-city TNDs In terms of the number of substantially built TNDs, there is no other city in the U.S. like Memphis, Tennessee. Harbor Town, South Bluffs, Mid-Town Corridor (an infill TND on an existing grid of streets) and Cordova the Town, are well underway. Another project, Schilling Farms, is scheduled to break ground later this year. Also remarkable is that three of these projects -- Harbor Town, South Bluffs and Mid-Town Corridor -- are inside the city, not in second-tier suburban areas like many other TNDs. Developer Henry Turley, who began Harbor Town and South Bluffs in 1989, has been the major force initiating TNDs in Memphis. The local design firm Looney Ricks Kiss has been involved in all of the projects, contributing highly regarded traditional architecture. All Memphis projects have been upscale, with home prices generally starting at $200,000 to $250,000. “We haven’t cleared the obstacle of how to make it more affordable in this area,” says Marion Jones, a planner with the City of Memphis. Another city planner, Gene Bryan, contends that more affordable TNDs will not come until the neotraditional projects achieve mainstream acceptance. “All new concepts in development start at the higher end,” he says. “Until there is more of a track record for TNDs, lower to mid-price builders won’t touch them.” Harbor Town has about 300 homes and 400 multifamily units built. It is laid out by RTKL Associates on a radial grid, with main avenues beginning and ending at small parks. Like most other successful TNDs, attention has been paid to architectural details. Homes are classically proportioned, with unusually high (eight foot) door and window heads, and raised foundations. Until recently, Harbor Town has lacked a mixed-use town center, but now that is under construction. Unable to find an outside firm to open a grocery store, developer Turley is building a 6,000 sq. ft. store, surrounded by other neighborhood scale retail establishments. The Turley Company will operate the grocery store when it is complete. The building is a single story, but Turley has created a pedestrian-oriented design. “The main portion of the grocery store is set back off of the street, and the building will be fronted with shops to create a continuous streetscape,” he explains. A 145-room hotel, marina slips (Harbor Town is located on an island), and the final phase of 88 homes are planned in the near future. Other town centers Like Harbor Town, Laguna West in Sacramento, California, and Kentlands in Gaithersburg, Maryland, are first-generation TNDs that consisted mainly of residential units for many years (Kentlands has a conventional “power center,” but that is not neotraditional). Kentlands’ true town center has broken ground, and is expected to be operational sometime in 1998. Also, a twin TND, Lakelands, is scheduled to break ground next year. Kentlands and Lakelands likely will be the first connected TNDs. These improvements should bring attention back to Kentlands, which won design recognition from Time magazine in the early 1990s, but recently has been overshadowed by projects like Celebration. Laguna West, with curvilinear streets and relatively modern architecture, is not quaint like many other neotraditional projects. But lately the convenient amenities and strength of its site plan are starting to pay off. About 50 homes were sold in July, 1997, alone, according to developer River West Investments. About 700 homes have been sold to date, and main street shops recently opened. A positive report on Laguna West in the current issue of Better Homes & Gardens, quoting satisfied residents, won’t hurt the project. Also, Laguna West has been successful in getting Apple Computer and JVC to locate plants across the road from the town center. Moving forward in Charlotte Charlotte, North Carolina, is a city ripe for neotraditional development. A number of surrounding towns have approved ordinances and/or zoning allowing TNDs to move forward. Two projects are breaking ground. The biggest is Clear Springs in Fort Mill, South Carolina, well financed by the wealthy Close family, the landowner. The project is expected to move forward at an unusually rapid pace. “The economy in the area is strong, the demand is good and there is a lot of interest in this project,” says Brad Davis of LandDesign Inc., the master planner. Clear Springs is laid out in six villages on 7,000 acres (2,200 of those acres are dedicated as permanent open space). The first phase -- breaking ground now -- is expected to take about a year to build. It contains of 330 units (apartments, townhomes and singles), a library, community center and 8,000 square feet of commercial. “The first village will be representative of the whole development -- so people can see it and understand what Clear Springs is all about,” Davis says. Vermillion, breaking ground in Huntersville, North Carolina, is a 300-acre neotraditional project north of the city. Developer Robert Bowman has planned two more nearby projects, New Village and Ramah, to follow Vermillion. Other TNDs to watch The Pacific Northwest now offers two good examples of TNDs under development. Northwest Landing in Dupont, Washington, has sold about 200 homes in the last two and a half years. Like Laguna West, it has been able to snare major employers -- in this case Intel Corp. and State Farm Insurance Company. The other significant project in the region is Fairview Village, an 80-acre TND in Fairview, Oregon, that is looking like a real village and beginning to sell well. The project is located about 15 miles east of Portland. The ability of TNDs like Laguna West and Northwest Landing to attract employers by offering amenities and reduced commutes for workers could be a significant advantage. But other TNDs have been unable to match the success of the above mentioned projects in attracting employers. Playa Vista in Los Angeles, California, and Village of Lakeside in Flower Mound, Texas, are TNDs that have drawn the interest of corporations, but neither project has been built. Lakeside was denied approval by local officials, and Playa Vista has been caught in a financial dispute. The Los Angeles project still may break ground in 1998, but it is uncertain that Dreamworks SKG will build a planned motion picture studio there. Elsewhere in the country a number of other noteworthy projects are moving forward. Prospect in Longmont, Colorado, has eight homes complete. The 80-acre project, designed to contain about 300 single homes, flats above garages, apartments over stores and civic buildings, is the first new urbanist town on the Eastern Range of Colorado. That’s an area that is inundated with sprawl and poised for New Urbanism. Cities such as Fort Collins (see public policy, page ?), Boulder, Bloomfield and Denver have passed ordinances and master plans encouraging better urban design in new development. Prospect will test the market for projects to follow. “It’s staggering the amount of interest there is in this project, says developer Kiki Wallace. “We don’t have enough product ready to meet the demand.” The construction of homes is slow, he explains, because the builders are not trained in classical proportions and detailing required to create a good streetscape. “Good design and building techniques are a lost art,” Wallace explains, “and there is no point of reference. All you can do is copy old stuff, and then you are accused of nostalgia.” But Wallace can see a transformation taking place. The builders are beginning to compete with one another, figure out ways to make the homes look better, and do it faster, he says. Middleton Hills, near Madison, Wisconsin, is one of the first TNDs in the northern Midwest. It has a unique -- and relatively modern -- look, compared to other TNDs. The architectural codes allow buildings in the prairie style, pioneered by Frank Lloyd Wright, and also in the craftsman and bungalow styles. Sales have been slow in Middleton Hills, with 30 lots sold in the first year and a half after the project opened. Developer Marshall Erdman Associates began construction of the commercial town center in 1996. A 10,000 square foot building is occupied by a neighborhood grocery store, medical offices and the project sales center. A second mixed-use commercial building is under construction. Using the plan book Brodie Creek, a TND getting started in Little Rock, Arkansas, has sold 30 lots in the first year, and 10 homes are built. The lots have ranged from 48 to 70 feet wide, with home prices starting at $160,000. A new strategy is to create a smaller house on a 36-foot lot to hit a target price of $145,000 to $150,000, according to Mary Allison of Wilson Development. In order to accomplish that goal, the developer used a new tool, the Traditional Neighborhood Design series home plan book from publisher HomeStyles, based in St. Paul, Minnesota. A Looney Ricks Kiss home, which has been built and sold successfully in Harbor Town, was chosen for the first three narrow lot units. The home plan book, which came out in January, 1997, facilitated the testing of a new sales strategy in Brodie Creek, and probably will ensure that decent looking houses are built. Time will tell whether they sell and/or blend in with other buildings in the project. Brodie Creek is one of the first TNDs to experiment with off-the-shelf neotraditional home plans. Focusing on multifamily A new kind of TND is being pioneered by Columbus Realty Trust and Post Properties, two publicly traded real estate investment trusts that plan to merge (see page ?). Columbus has a project under construction called Addison Circle in Addison, Texas, and Post has one breaking ground called Riverside in Atlanta. Both have the interconnected streets, civic spaces and retail configurations similar to other new urbanist projects, but the residential consists mainly of multifamily (Addison Circle includes a small number of planned single family units). These projects are high-density TNDs. For example, Addison Circle has 3,000 units on 90 acres, or more than 30 units to the acre, including the commercial and civic spaces. That kind of density requires skillful and tasteful architecture, but Columbus has shown, with some of its smaller projects, that it can successfully implement such a trick. Overall, a robust diversity is evident in the new (and old) crop of TNDs that are riding the strong U.S. real estate markets. They still represent a tiny percentage of the overall real estate development industry, but New Urbanism amounts to the only viable alternative to the single use, disconnected pattern of the last 50 years. In order for the conservative real estate industry and its regulators to buy into the new paradigm, a critical mass of TNDs must be built. These projects make a good start. Judging by recent articles in national publications, at least a few projects are ready for evaluation to see if they live up to their promise.