A visit to new urbanist communities in Oregon

A visit to new urbanist communities in Oregon inspired South Dakota developer Doug Metcalf to bring aspects of TND to Brandon, a city of 6,000 inhabitants outside Sioux Falls. Metcalf designed the 40-acre Tall Grass Village adjacent to an upscale conventional development he had developed previously. Tall Grass Village features houses with front porches, alleys, and streets narrower than the norm. Metcalf garnered favorable attention from the public at home shows and extensive media coverage, but the local planning department immediately put up roadblocks. “You feel as if you’re out here all by yourself,” Metcalf says, in part because there are no TND models nearby. Having compromised on lot sizes and setbacks, he broke ground in the summer of 1998 and had three homes ready by October. But Metcalf had made mistakes. “We outpriced ourselves, and the public wasn’t buying into it,” he says. Unable to afford a market study, he misjudged his target audience. The homes were too big, few Realtors were willing to understand and sell anything other than the conventional product, and buyers were skeptical about Metcalf’s ability to stay with the TND concept. Metcalf also learned that traditional East Coast housing designs do not necessarily work well in South Dakota. Metcalf sought advice from a prominent new urbanist planning firm, but its services proved too expensive for him. Metcalf is looking to start a dialogue with other small developers who are trying to implement new urbanist ideas. Contact: 605-582-6045.