NJ Future Redevelopment Forum 2015 LRichards

(re) Development: Creating Great Places

Lynn Richards, President & CEOCongress for the New UrbanismMarch 13, 2015

OPPORTUNITIES

Growing Population

Changing Demographics

Increasing Demand

(Re) Development Opportunities

Great Places

The majority of people want to live in places where they can live, work shop and place

in the same neighborhood

Univ. of Utah estimates 2.8 million

acres of greyfields that are ripe for

redevelopment

(re) DEVELOPMENT: WHY NOW? CNU

“On a per acre basis, walkable urban development generates 12 times the tax revenues as drivable sub-urban.”

(re) DEVELOPMENT: WHY NOW? CNU

A George Washington University study (2002) found that for every

brownfield acre that is redeveloped, 4.5 acres of open space are

preserved.

Baltimore, MD has completed 30 brownfields projects throughout the

city, creating or retaining more than 3,000 jobs and attracting more than

$300 million in new investment.

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(re) DEVELOPMENT: WHY REDEVELOPMENT? CNU

Former auto dealership in Rochester, NY redeveloped into 77 new residential

units, coffee house, and restaurant.

Private Development

Public Sector Investment

Infrastructure and Amenities

Public Sector Investment

Infrastructure and Amenities

Private Development

Kick-starting Private Investment

Financing Strategy in Warm or Hot Market Locations:

Financing Strategy in Cooler Market Locations:

(aka “Unlocking Private Capital”)

(re) DEVELOPMENT: RETURN ON INVESTMENT CNU

The BLVD, Lancaster, CA(re) DEVELOPMENT: RETURN ON INVESTMENT CNU

(re) DEVELOPMENT: OPPORTUNITY CNU

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Cleveland: A great place to park

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DEAD MALLS: A GREAT OPPORTUNITY — Through the 1980s and

90s there were about 20 malls built per year. Today, the number is less

than 1 mall / year.

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Mizner Park, Boca Raton, FL; Cooper Carry Architects, 1990

From dead mall to mixed-use downtown with linear parkSource: Dunham-Jones

(re) DEVELOPMENT: REDEVELOPMENT CNU

City Center, a 10-acre redevelopment of DC’s former convention center

transformed into 2.5 million sq feet vibrant mixed-use neighborhood.

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Redevelopment can:

– Incorporate open space

– Restore wetlands or other pre-existing ecologies.

– Create more open space

– Green the streets

– Add multi-use trails and paths

Emeryville, CA cleaned up an abandoned railroad spur to

create a four-block park with multi-family housing.

CNU(re) DEVELOPMENT: ACTIVATING THE PUBLIC REALM CNU

Thornton Place, WA

Before and after views of Thornton Place with bioswale/park, in Seattle.Photos: Sky-Pix Aerial Photography.

(re) DEVELOPMENT: ACTIVATING THE PUBLIC REALM

(re) DEVELOPMENT: INCREMENTAL URBANISM CNU

Redevelopment can:

- Occur at multiple scales

- Add to existing neighborhood fabric

- Connect neighborhoods

- Increase density

- Help places evolve organically

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The Egleston Crossing redevelopment

(MA) helped renew a neglected corridor

with two new buildings that provided 64

units of affordable housing.

Abandoned Kmart Building …

(re) DEVELOPMENT: INCREMENTAL URBANISM CNU

Olathe, KS (outside of Kansas City): Abandoned Big Box Transforms into Heartland Community Church

CNU(re) DEVELOPMENT: INCREMENTAL URBANISM CNU

Reusing the box often does not change the physical suburban landscape. But it does:

(1) Prevent an expanding sprawling pattern by reusing existing buildings

(2) Activate the space, which can lay the ground work for broader land use changes.

Cautionary Note: Reusing the Box

CNU(re) DEVELOPMENT: INCREMENTAL URBANISM CNU

CHALLENGES

Existing efforts to revitalize into vibrant, walkable, downtown district

What will the market support?

Garland, TX

(re) DEVELOPMENT: WHAT CAN THE MARKET SUPPORT? CNU

Market Assessment: Where’s the Potential?1. Assess Competitive Position (Strengths & Weaknesses)

– important economic assets (major employers, place features, location advantages, etc.)

– Local demographic trends

– Local job trends

– Where do residents live and work? Where do workers live? Is there a match between these or lots of in/out commuting? How do real estate market conditions reflect these trends?

2. Assess Fiscal Conditions

– Budget trends

– Key sources of funding for capital projects and ongoing services

– How do land uses, economic conditions, and trends impact the budget?

3. Assess Potential for Change (Opportunities & Challenges)

– Review regional and local job and household projections

– Understand your competitive position

– Inventory sites available for development and/or redevelopment

– Identify available infrastructure capacity and deficiencies


• Potomac Yards– Rail station, contamination

– First phase of redevelopment complete by 1997

– Tenants signed 20-year lease

Temporary Uses: Preparing for future redevelopment in Potomac Yards, VA

• Intermediate step may be needed

• Infrastructure investments may take decades to execute

• Have a vision for the future, manage expectations


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How did this building stop redevelopment in downtown Topeka, Kansas?

(re) DEVELOPMENT: FINANCING CNU

Missing Middle

Urban mixed-use mid-rise is 25 to 59 times more revenue per acre than its suburban counterparts


- DNA of your town

- Determine what your city looks like

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(re) DEVELOPMENT: CODES CNU

What’s wrong with today’s codes?

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• Type and mix of uses • Lot sizes• Building type, size,

height and setbacks • Street and sidewalk

designs, including width

• Parking requirements• Stormwater

requirements

Process for Fixing:

- Identify community goals and outcomes

- Analyze codes against those outcomes (audit)

- Assess best path forward, e.g., new code, overlay, or

amendments

- Create priorities

Outcomes AuditAssess

OptionsPriorities

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Design Guidelines• Non-compulsory design guidance

Euclidian Zoning• Text-only codes, containing illustrative

graphics that carry no legal authority

Overlay• Special design guidance that "overlays" base

zoning

PUD• Flexibility in the application of Euclidean

zoning rules for a specific project

LEED Products

Smart Code

Form-Based (the graphics carry legal authority)

• Frontage codes (regulations though street sections)

• Typological codes (street, building and open space types)

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Greensboro adopted Traditional Neighborhood Design ordinance to allow a 10-acre mixed-use infill revitalization project

Changing the Codes– Greensboro, NC


Annual tax base in this area went from $400K before redevelopment

(1995) to over $10 million after redevelopment (2003).

BEFORE


Columbia Pike, Arlington, VA

BEFOREAFTER


Columbia Pike, Arlington, VA

(re) DEVELOPMENT: DESIGN MATTERS CNU

Fine grain buildings and neighborhoods, permeability, context.

Hope VI redevelopment project in Cincinnati, OH

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Political leadership/

Political will

Technical ability

Legal framework to

enable redevelopment

Public Private Partnerships

Transparency/ Predictability

Creative public engagement

Creating Great Places: Taking Advantage of Redevelopment Opportunities

(re) DEVELOPMENT: GOVERNANCE CNU

DALLAS / FT WORTH APRIL 29 – MAY 2, 2015

DALLAS FT

WORTH

Join us in Dallas / Fort Worth for CNU 23, April 29 – May 2, 2015 and network, learn and collaborate with the top real estate developers, architects, public officials, planners, architects and advocates working to make our cities better places.

Old North, St. Louis

THANK YOULynn RichardsPresident and CEOCongress for the New UrbanismLrichards (at) cnu.org

NJ Future Redevelopment Forum 2015 LRichards

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