Norton Commons is a 594-acre new urbanist development located in Prospect, Kentucky within the Louisville metro. It is a master planned community designed to be self contained and modeled after Seaside, Florida. The boundries of the development is Interstate 71 to the south, Chamberlain Lane to the west and KY 1694 to the east.

 

Currently, Norton Commons features 500 homes and 40 businesses, and is designed to contain as many as 2,880 residences and 560,000 square-feet of commercial space, along with 150-acres of parks. The development is named after the late George Norton, founder of WAVE-TV who purchased the Norton Common properties in 1938 for a farm.

 

 

The master plan, derived from the historic Olmsted Park neighborhoods, includes:

 

a. The Village Center, a mixed-use development with street-level retail, apartments and condominiums, offices, single family and detached houses, and carriage houses.

b. The Village General, consisting of single family detached homes and carriage houses. Multifamily units are allowed on the corners of streets.

c. The Village Edge, consisting of single family houses and some carriage houses.

 

Approximately a fourth of the land is dedicated to parks, squares, plazas, walking paths and civic amenities, designed by the firm of Sabak, Wilson & Lingo. The centerpiece of the park network is the Fountain of Meeting Street Park, which contains a 16-foot tall, 9.6-foot wide fountain constructed of cast iron. Other amenities include a the Jimson Square swimming pool, landscaped greenspace, Saint Mary Academy, Saint Bernadette Catholic Church, The Vanguard Academy and Worthington Fire Station No. 3.

 

Construction began in the fall of 2011 on a 40,000 square-foot, $13 million YMCA branch on 12 acres that will open in late 2012. In addition, Jefferson County Public Schools has an option to build adjacent to the YMCA prior to 2015.

 

I visited Norton Commons earlier in the spring, and was able to capture some of what was constructed and the expansion to the north and west. This is one of the largest development projects in the state of Kentucky at the time, in terms of residential units, and while the developers refer to this as "infill" between two existing subdivisions - it is an urban core built out to two two-lane rural routes on the fringe of the metro. While I do appreciate the high quality in construction, especially in regards to the customized houses and the replica storefronts and offices, it is very expensive, with lots fetching over $100,000 and homes selling for four to six times that with ease. It's not affordable for the middle- or lower-class.

 

I started out with the residences along Gerardia Lane.

 

 

 

 

Residences along Jimson Street.

 

 

 

 

A new residence along Civic Way.

 

 

Residences along Kings Crown Drive.

 

 

 

A Victorian corner residence at Gerardia Lane and Kings Crown Drive constructed by Lancaster Built Homes. Have $569,000 to spare?

 

 

 

A residence at Jimston Street and Gerardia Lane.

 

 

A residence at Featuerbell Boulevard and Jimson Pool Boulevard.

 

 

Looking westward along Featuerbell Boulevard.

 

 

Looking along Jimson Pool Street.

 

 

Residences along Hobblebush Lane.

 

 

Detail of residences along Meeting Street.

 

 

 

 

 

A corner residence at Meeting Street and Featherbell Boulevard.

 

 

Residences along Harlequin Street.

 

 

 

A residence at Norton Commons Boulevard and Jimson Street.

 

 

 

 

The Village Center is less complete but buildings are typically fronted with appropriate brick, up to the sidewalk, and a select few contain balconies and other ornamental elements. Give it a few decades and this will age gracefully. I started out with a view along Norton Commons Boulevard.

 

 

 

A corner storefront at Norton Commons Boulevard and Meeting Street.

 

 

Towne Plaza is an upcoming office and retail development along Norton Commons Boulevard.

 

 

A storefront along Meeting Street.

 

 

An unfinished corridor along Meeting Street.

 

 

 

 

 

While the quality of the development cannot be understated - it is one of the best examples of new urbanism in Kentucky, it is so far from Louisville's traditional urban core that any hope of calling Norton Commons a successful urban development is all but lost when it is surrounded by traditional suburban sprawl and ten-acre lots. Lots of these sizes can be had for substantially cheaper in Louisville proper, and therefore houses can be constructed substantially less when equating in the lot prices. Factoring in that many of these fine folks commute into Louisville or to a suburb, and it doesn't make much fiscal or environmental sense to continue to develop over farm and wooded topography when ample opportunity can be found further inside the metro.

 

More on Norton Commons can be found after the jump »

I agree with your assessment. From this summary, I have to say this appears to be about the best new urbanist development I've seen. The architectural variety is stunning (yes, it's all retro, but quite a mix of styles and designs) -- it almost appears, in both the residential and commercial sections, that there were different builders for different lots. And I like the opportunity for multi-family (though there probably should be more of that and of granny flats, etc.). But what truly makes a "neighborhood" as opposed to a "subdivision" or a "development" is connections and context. If it's separate from the fabric of a broader community, it misses the point.

Agreed. And FYI, there are 18 builders on the Norton Commons Project, which leads to a lot of variety and different styles. Unlike some of the other projects I routinely criticize, like City West in Cincinnati, some of those "new urbanism" developments that replaced low income housing in Louisville, and pretty much anything subsidized because generally just one developer is selected. I wonder how much more competitive the bidding process would be if there was a range of builders to choose from for each lot, or if each builder got to choose their lots.

I went to this development several years ago and thought it was okay.  Carmel, Indiana it ain't in regards to quality of the New Urbanism but at least they tried.  Had that Summit of Louisville been built a mile closer, I believe this could've actually been a nice, functional place ala the extension of downtown development in Hudson (OH).

 

But it certainly beats Deerfield Towne Centres!!! ;)

Agreed. And FYI, there are 18 builders on the Norton Commons Project, which leads to a lot of variety and different styles. Unlike some of the other projects I routinely criticize, like City West in Cincinnati, some of those "new urbanism" developments that replaced low income housing in Louisville, and pretty much anything subsidized because generally just one developer is selected. I wonder how much more competitive the bidding process would be if there was a range of builders to choose from for each lot, or if each builder got to choose their lots.

 

The problem with Cincinnati's City West is the lack of commercial space, not the architecture.  City West does not address the primary issue within its neighborhood, which is high unemployment, low property values and economic isolation.

The unfinished downtown actually reminds me of a lot of real small town commercial streets with it's vacant lot gaps.

hmm, looks like they combined lifestyle mall elements with a mixed suburban housing development. the good is its an improvement over the typical lifestyle mall or housing development of the oughts era because it even more closely replicates a real small town. the bad, and its very bad, is that it wasnt done on empty lots in the city limits somewhere, so its just more unecessary spawl.

 

 

Had that Summit of Louisville been built a mile closer, I believe this could've actually been a nice, functional place ala the extension of downtown development in Hudson (OH).

 

...imagine a residential/office development of this scale and quality and site planning surrounding The Greene and you would have the perfect combination....the town center with shopping, food, offices, then the walkable "town" surrounding it.  (which makes dealing with "shopping center parking" a challenge, true.)

 

 

 

 

Agreed.  It would've gave Beavercreek 2% credibility.

hmm, looks like they combined lifestyle mall elements with a mixed suburban housing development. the good is its an improvement over the typical lifestyle mall or housing development of the oughts era because it even more closely replicates a real small town. the bad, and its very bad, is that it wasnt done on empty lots in the city limits somewhere, so its just more unecessary spawl.

 

There are several, but they are mixed-income developments and are generally not as successful from a property value standpoint or commercial standpoint. It's like Cincinnati's failed City West, but with more variation in building stock and more architectural qualities - but plagued with the same issues as City West. Some property values have declined substantially, and the retail storefronts are practically empty and the businesses that are there are not high revenue generators.

 

It would be nice to put Norton Commons somewhere within Louisville, but west Louisville has such a terrible stigma, has a high crime rate, generally pocketed with heavy industry - and is closer to Rubbertown, and has been declining for decades.

 

Here are the two that come to my memory:

http://goo.gl/maps/uOtq - Nice variation, but mostly empty storefronts.

http://goo.gl/maps/enwa - Better chance of success, due to the redevelopment of Butchertown and the proximity to Bardstown Road and downtown.

 

 

At best it's a demonstration project on how to do suburbia better, esp. since Louisville has such poor quality/poorly planned suburban development.