Some ideas to reuse developments

Image via Wikipedia

Here is a video that I found on the L.A. Creek Freak Website.

While the gas prices mentioned in this video may currently lower than they were back then, but the video does have some great information on how to revitalize our suburban communities into more walkable transit friendly areas.

Part of the video also mentions on how shopping centers in several areas including malls have been reused and redesign to make them more people friendly.

Think about the Dolan Legacy shopping center on the northeast corner of 700 East and 9400 South. While the center only has passable transit service, this area could be redesigned into a more welcoming mixed use development with just some creative thinking.

Another great point made in the video that I have mentioned in the past is the importance of having a mixture of housing price ranges in a development.

One of the problems with existing developments including affordable housing is that it segregates people into different areas which of course leads to the "those kind of people attitudes".

The final part of the video also talks about re-greening areas. Here in Salt Lake there has been talk about restoring City Creek through the downtown area (not counting the fake creek at the City Creek shopping Center).

Suburbs in the Urban Area Part II

Image via Wikipedia Yesterday I talked about the situation in Miami when it comes to their suburban developments in the urban area. Today we look at the residential development at Gateway and what could have been done.

Most people know Gateway as the shopping center built around the former Union Pacific passenger train area. It is referred two as a “lifestyle center” that includes an open air mall and a residential component.

I have already talked about the while being an open air mall, Gateway share the characteristic of being a closed mall by being designed to keep people in the complex and not blending with the neighborhood.

Now let’s take a look at the residential component and see how it blends into the community.

While you have the shopping center on the backside of the residential component, the front side faces 500 West. While there have been trees planted and a grass median put in for the most part people only use this to get to and from their cars.

Previously I talked about the need to turn 100 South and 600 West into a Pedestrian connector between Gateway and Central Station and this would give more reason for pedestrians to access 500 South but it still has a problem.

The problem is while walking along 500 West you are faced a long journey past blank walls with nothing to draw people along the corridor.

In addition there is no connects from the residential area to either TRAX or the bus system. If the residential component would have been built on the opposite of the center, residents would have convenient walks to both TRAX and the bus lines.

In addition, the residential component does not blend into the surrounding neighborhoods much like the retail component. It is meant to isolate its residents into that area alone. Also, without neighborhood markets for the people to shop in, they have to use their cars even for the most basic of needs. There is nothing inside the Gateway retail center to deal with this type of need. Sure they can get a cup of coffee or look at books, but if they need a gallon of milk and some breakfast foods where do they go?

While Boyer did try to put in a Super Target that would have been too large of scale to blend into the neighborhood as can be seen from the Wal-Mart at 300 West/1300 South.

One of the problems with Gateway is that Boyer is basically a sprawl developer. They used their basic knowledge of building sprawl strip centers and adapted it to the urban environment instead of adapting to that urban environment.

That brings us back to City Creek. Will the residential development at City Creek be truly urban living that blends seamlessly to build a walkable urban area? Or will it end up like Gateway and be nothing but vertical suburbs were people are just as dependent on their cars as they are in the suburbs?

Layton is in the news...

Image by Daniel Greene via FlickrHere is some articles from today's Deseret News that deals with development and shopping centers in Layton.

Layton OKs housing units

First of all, let me call your attention to one of the last sentences of the article:

Councilman Renny Knowlton said he's noticed that single home development has slowed down a lot recently.

No kidding? This guy is a smart one.

The town homes approved on Gentile are within walking distance of the Front Runner station, and although not true transit oriented development it can be considered part of the Front Runner station area as the picture shows.


View Larger Map

This next article:

Layton hoping to lure businesses

Shows that Layton is having some Sandy envy. It has to have all the coolest stores and restaurants despite the infrastructure nightmare they create. Hill Field Road is already a traffic nightmare and more stores along the corridor will only worsen the problem. Will these new chain stores bring in enough sales tax revenue to overcome the infrastructure problems that already exist much less would be created? Of course not.

Instead of worrying about having every chain store on the list, how about promoting Layton's unique character. Layton has a nice downtown area that is very close to the Front Runner station. How about promoting some of those small businesses and showing that Layton has something special? After all, chain stores are everywhere but that small business...

Finally there is this article about the shopping center at Fort Lane and Gentile Streets:

Developers are excited about Layton shopping center

Once again, we have developers looking to develop a property that they can depreciate over 7 years and show losses on making big bucks but could care less what happens to the area around the shopping center once they make their money.

Both of the streets are two lane roads. Once again you have to ask, will this center produce enough sales tax dollars to cover the infrastructure cost it creates, not to mention the additional police and fire protection and other city services? Of course the answer to those question is no.

It's time for city governments to start looking beyond just the sales tax revenue brought in and look at the actual long term cost of a project including additional services. Cities should be looking for create unique shopping experiences not worrying if they have every chain store on the list.