Here's some interesting research and compilation of studies/results regarding the relationship between rail transit and property values...

 

http://www.rtd-denver.com/Projects/TOD/The_effect_of_Rail_Transit_on_Property_Values_Summary_of_Studies.pdf

 

How ironic that, to read a study commissioned by the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating, you have to go to the website of a transit agency in Denver, Colorado (where they recently voted in a $4 billion rail system expansion). Now what does that tell you?

You may want to visit the source site, as the following article has a number of imbedded web links...

 

http://weblog.cnt.org/2006/11/06/new-report-released-today-finds-growing-demand-for-housing-near-transit/

 

New Report Released Finds Growing Demand for Housing near Transit

 

As hundreds of transit activists assembled in Chicago for the 2006 Rail~volution conference, which ended on Wednesday, CNT released a new report highlighting the growing demand for diverse housing near transit, in conjunction with Reconnecting America and Strategic Economics –the partners in the Center for Transit-Oriented Development (TOD).

 

The study reveals the significant diversity – economically and racially – currently present in transit-served neighborhoods, or transit zones, and suggests that additional development of mixed-income, mixed-race housing in these areas would respond to growing demand for affordable and livable communities while also providing numerous benefits to cities, regions, and the environment.

 

The study of 41 regions ─ 32 regions with transit and 9 regions planning it ─ entitled Preserving and Promoting Diverse Transit-Oriented Neighborhoods was funded by the Ford Foundation and highlights data on neighborhoods near transit today and the demand for such neighborhoods by 2030.

 

The current picture reveals a presence of diversity by race and/or income in transit neighborhoods – whether urban or suburban – that surpasses the diversity of the surrounding neighborhoods and overall regions. Projections to 2030 indicate that 16 million households – compared to 6 million currently living near transit in 2000 – will want to live near transit and that low-to-moderate income households represent a significant portion of the future demand.

 

For more information on the new report, you can read the press release and fact sheet here and the Summary Report of Preserving and Promoting Diverse Transit-Oriented Neighborhoods here.

 

This entry was posted on Monday, November 6th, 2006 at 11:01 am and is filed under Transportation, Press Releases, Transit-Oriented Development. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

This one isn't in America, but I didn't see the need to start a separate thread.  A town in Germany re-develops an old military base into a car-free community:

 

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1220/p01s03-woeu.html

 

First two paragraphs:

 

New German community models car-free living

 

FREIBURG, GERMANY – It's pickup time at the Vauban kindergarten here at the edge of the Black Forest, but there's not a single minivan waiting for the kids. Instead, a convoy of helmet-donning moms - bicycle trailers in tow - pedal up to the entrance.

 

Welcome to Germany's best-known environmentally friendly neighborhood and a successful experiment in green urban living. The Vauban development - 2,000 new homes on a former military base 10 minutes by bike from the heart of Freiburg - has put into practice many ideas that were once dismissed as eco-fantasy but which are now moving to the center of public policy...

 

 

Major TOD in New York.....

 

 

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

December 21, 2006

State Approves Major Complex for Brooklyn

By NICHOLAS CONFESSORE

The New York Times

 

A state oversight board voted yesterday to approve the Atlantic Yards project near Downtown Brooklyn, removing the last regulatory hurdle for one of the biggest real estate projects in the citys history.

 

The vote by the Public Authorities Control Board capped three years of battles between opponents and supporters of the $4 billion project. The version approved yesterday eight million square feet over 22 acres along Atlantic Avenue includes a huge residential housing complex with about 6,400 market-rate and subsidized apartments, a basketball arena for the Nets, and a smattering of office space, with a design punctuated by elaborate towers that dwarf nearby residential neighborhoods.

 

......

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/21/nyregion/21brooklyn.html?_r=2&ref=nyregion&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

What's Atlantic Yards being built on?  Sounds like maybe an old rail yard? 

I believe part of it sits on what was the old Brooklyn Navy Yard.

USA Today:  Cities Rediscover the Allure of Streetcars:

 

(Go to the link to see a pic of a Portland streetcar)

 

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-01-08-streetcars_x.htm

 

Cities rediscover allure of streetcars

Updated 1/8/2007 11:15 PM ET

By Haya El Nasser, USA TODAY

The streetcars that rumbled and clanged through many American cities from the late 1800s until World War II helped shape neighborhoods. More than a half-century later, streetcars are coming back and reviving the same neighborhoods they helped create....

On that note,

 

DC is looking to open its first street railway since 1964 by next year.  It will be a 1.1 mile street-running line (with overhead catenary) connecting the Anacostia Metro Station to Bolling Air Force Base.  The District DOT is paying for the line, which is costing about $10 million. 

 

There are also plans to install streetcar tracks along H Street NE, beginning at Union Station, when the street is repaved soon.  Service is expected to begin in 3-5 years.

^Interesting article, I need to take a visit to Ybor, haven't been since 2001.

^Interesting article, I need to take a visit to Ybor, haven't been since 2001.

 

I thought tampa in general was a snooze!  Ybor..yawn!  lol

 

On that note,

 

DC is looking to open its first street railway since 1964 by next year.  It will be a 1.1 mile street-running line (with overhead catenary) connecting the Anacostia Metro Station to Bolling Air Force Base.  The District DOT is paying for the line, which is costing about $10 million. 

 

There are also plans to install streetcar tracks along H Street NE, beginning at Union Station, when the street is repaved soon.  Service is expected to begin in 3-5 years.

 

That could be nice.  That area opposite Mass Avenue (the back of Union Station?) has really started to change.

I thought tampa in general was a snooze!  Ybor..yawn!

 

Yes, thats why I haven't been there in 6 years!  :-D

Groundbreaking New Analysis: Public Transportation Saves $6,200 Per Household, 1.4 Billion Gallons of Gasoline

Transit News

 

January 9, 2007

 

Virginia Miller

202-496-4816

[email protected]

 

Mantill Williams

202-496-4869

[email protected]

 

(Download In Adobe PDF format)

 

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) released a groundbreaking new study finding that public transportation use saves 1.4 billion gallons of gasoline every year, and can reduce household expenses by $6,200 - more than the average household pays for food in a year.

 

"This should be a wake-up call as Congress and the President discuss how America can move towards energy independence," said APTA President William W. Millar. "Public transportation provides Americans with greater freedom, access, opportunity and choice. Ridership is up over 25 percent since 1995, because Americans knew instinctively that it saves money and gasoline. Now we know exactly how much."

 

The study, "Public Transportation and Petroleum Savings in the U.S.: Reducing Dependence on Oil," was prepared for APTA by ICF International. It finds that:

 

Public transportation usage reduces U.S. gasoline consumption by 1.4 billion gallons each year - or the equivalent of 108 million cars filling up, almost 300,000 each day. These savings result from the efficiency of carrying multiple passengers in each vehicle; the reduction in traffic congestion from fewer automobiles on the roads; and the varied sources of energy for public transportation. If twice as many Americans had the choice of taking public transportation, these gasoline savings would at least double to 2.8 billion gallons each year.

 

Households that are likely to use public transportation on a given day save over $6,200 every year, compared to a household with no access to public transportation service. These households have two workers, one car and are within three-quarters of a mile of public transportation.

 

Who says there's no such thing as a free lunch?" Millar said. "According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average U.S. household spends $5,781 on food - and people who are likely to take public transportation can easily save more than that in a year."

 

As the new Congress begins working on energy legislation, we call on them to make sure that public transportation plays a central role in reducing our dependence on foreign oil," Millar said.

 

The full report is available online at Public Transportation and Petroleum Savings in the U.S.: Reducing Dependence on Oil and www.publictransportation.org.

 

 

Already posted at:

 

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=5549.msg153508#msg153508

 

Feature: Sprawl

The Boys of Sprawl

Free-market think tanks are working hard to convince Americans that Smart Growth is a stupid idea.

By Christopher R. Conte

 

Bellbrook, Ohio, is the kind of place most urban planners hate. A melange of single-family houses with big yards and a strip mall stretching across what once was farm land 12 miles south of Dayton, it is a classic case of urban sprawl. But Samuel Staley looks at the place and sees something beautiful: He sees the magic of the free market at work...

 

"This is no soulless suburb," insists Staley, who is the deputy director of the Reason Public Policy Institute, a market- oriented think tank based in Los Angeles. A lifelong resident of Bellbrook, he has watched his hometown grow from a rural village into a crowded suburban area. Where many bemoan the loss of open space to the seemingly random spread of subdivisions and shopping centers, Staley points to a perfectly logical – and benign – pattern of development...

 

http://www.governing.com/archive/archive/2000/may/sprawl.txt

 

 

Although at least 10 years off, Schaumburg starts to plan for STAR rail station

By Eric Peterson

Daily Herald Staff Writer

Posted Wednesday, January 31, 2007

 

Though the proposed STAR rail line connecting OHare International Airport with suburbs to the west and south is still an estimated 10 years off, Schaumburg already is planning the redevelopment of the area where its station would be.

 

.....

 

http://www.dailyherald.com/news/cookstory.asp?id=275553&cc=c&tc=&t=

Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority

Transit Oriented Development Forum

The Center for Civic Education, Cleveland State University

Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs

Glickman-Miller Hall, Atrium

1717 Euclid Avenue

Cleveland, OH 44115

Thursday, February 22, 2007

8:00 AM to Noon

 

The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA) has developed

TOD guidelines for joint development projects adjacent to its transit

facilities. Join us for a discussion of these guidelines, along with TOD

best practices, information and displays featuring TOD future

development opportunities, and discussion of local examples of TOD

projects.

 

8:00 - 8:15 AM Registration and Continental Breakfast

 

8:15-8:30 AM Welcoming Remarks

Kathryn W. Hexter, Director, Center for Civic Education, Levin College

of Urban Affairs, Cleveland State University

Joseph A. Calabrese, CEO/General Manager/Secretary-Treasurer

Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority

 

8:30 - 9:30 AM Keynote Address-Best Practices in TOD

Jeffrey Tumlin, an expert in the TOD field and Principal with the San

Francisco-based transit consulting firm Nelson\Nygaard

http://www.nelsonnygaard.com/resumes/tumlin.shtml

 

9:30-9:45 AM Q & A

 

9:45-10:00 AM Break

 

10:00 - 10:15 AM Maribeth Feke, Director, Programming & Planning,

Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority

Presentation of Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority, TOD

Guidelines

 

10:15 - 11:30 AM Panel Discussion

John Buttarazzi, Liberty Hall Advisors,

moderator

Michael J. Schipper, P.E., Deputy General Manager, Engineering &

Project Management, Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority

Abraham Bruckman, AICP, Director of Real Estate Development

Ohio City Near West Development Corporation

Joyce Braverman, AICP, Director of Planning, City of Shaker Hts.

Mandy Metcalf, AICP, EcoVillage, Project Manager, The Detroit Shoreway

Development Organization

 

11:30-Noon Q&A

 

All Forum events are archived on our website at

www.urban.csuohio.edu/forum

Lents town center awaits its reclaiming

TRIB TOWN: PDC projects, light rail will transform area

By Anna Johns

 

The Portland Tribune Feb 6, 2007

 

JIM CLARK / PORTLAND TRIBUNE

 

The Lents town center in Southeast Portland may seem like a blur to drivers who exit off Interstate 205 and speed through it each day.

 

At the intersection of Southeast Foster Road and 92nd Avenue, most of the buildings are either boarded up or dilapidated. The only obvious sign of life is at a gas station reminiscent of a racetrack pit stop where cars pull out of traffic for a quick fill-up and then head down Foster toward downtown Portland.

 

 

.....

 

http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/story.php?story_id=117071548839202000

Its interesting to read the comments that people from Portland have on this story.  Its the same type of people that crap all over things in Cincy.  The article is talking about a transit stop and extension of light rail service that is creating investment in this once ignored community...and some guy starts ranting about how Portland needs to improve the paving of streets and what not...absolutely amazing!!

 

All in all, Portland seems to have the hang of this TOD thing and is really starting to capitalize on it...well done!

Timber in Transition: Subdivisions in remote areas increase cost county services

By MICHAEL JAMISON of the Missoulian

 

 

KALISPELL - It's not much to look at, this lonely six-mile stretch of bumpy gravel road.

 

Yet this rural route has become a battleground of sorts, a place where lines will be drawn, where “we will finally decide how much taxpayer subsidy Plum Creek will continue to receive.”

“That's really what's at stake,” said Joe Brenneman, one of three Flathead County commissioners. “That taxpayers will pay for Plum Creek profits is no longer a question. The question is, how much will they pay?”

 

At issue is a winding old road west of Kalispell, tracking nine miles from U.S. Highway 2 to Ashley Lake. For years, Brenneman said, the only real traffic on the road was Plum Creek Timber Co. trucks, hauling logs to the mill...

 

http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2007/02/06/news/mtregional/news06.txt

 

 

Reporter Michael Jamison can be reached at 1-800-366-7186 or at [email protected]

A video link to a major new TOD project on the Red Line in Los Angeles.....

 

http://video.nbc4.tv/player/?id=61873

Interesting stuff. So the largest single real estate development in California history (is that really correct?) is being built at a subway station? With no freeway nearby? Who would have thought that in a California a decade or so ago?

Hey, we have lots of TOD going on right now!  Feast your eyes on this site.  It's like TOD porn.

 

http://www.tndwest.com/index.html

Viewpoint: Urban planning can save the earth

Adrienne J. Tissier, The Examiner

Apr 2, 2007 6:00 AM (6 days ago)

Current rank: # 60 of 14,658

 

SAN MATEO, Calif. - Unlike the cure for the common cold, solutions to a significant cause of global warming are commonly known. In fact, more than a few middle-schoolers understand that reducing the number of personal automobiles on the road, reducing the length of time such cars are driven, will in-turn reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

 

The challenge is persuading millions of American commuters to abandon a cherished member of the family, a combination mobile office, breakfast nook and makeup vanity hand-washed and waxed with love.

 

The solutions to global warming are found in modern urban planning and zoning and three little words: Transit Oriented Development. Build well-designed, affordable housing within walking distance of efficient mass transit, and the air-fouling traffic jams will unclog themselves. Better yet, build well-designed, affordable housing within walking distance of jobs, schools and retail, and car use will plummet.

 

.....

 

http://www.examiner.com/printa-651599~Viewpoint:_Urban_planning_can_save_the_earth.html

The Denver Post

 

March 29, 2007 Thursday

FINAL EDITION

 

SECTION: BUSINESS; Pg. C-01

 

RIDING THE RAILS Westminster, like Denver, is hopeful that FasTracks development will energize declining areas

 

BYLINE: Margaret Jackson Denver Post Staff Writer

 

 

......

Don't know if this fits here, but this is a really fantastic article on commuting in America from the New Yorker, http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/04/16/070416fa_fact_paumgarten

 

I didn't want to copy and paste the whole thing because it's huge.

Plan envisions bustling town centers

'MetroFuture' puts focus on suburbs

By Sarah Schweitzer, Boston Globe Staff | May 1, 2007

 

Planners mapping the future of Greater Boston want to encourage people to live and work in suburban town centers, and cut pollution, water usage, and traffic to improve the quality of life over the next two decades.

 

The "MetroFuture" planning recommendations by the quasi-public Metropolitan Area Planning Council were made after three years of discussions with 4,000 residents and public officials, and will be unveiled today at a Boston College citizens seminar in downtown Boston.

 

.......

 

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/05/01/plan_envisions_bustling_town_centers/

I'd love to see a visionary plan like that for Northeast Ohio. We'd improve our chances of getting out from under the EPA's air quality non-attainment status. We'd lower our disgustingly high per-household transportation costs. We'd raise the stature of downtown as an employment center. We'd increase the accessibility of suburban jobs to the urban poor. And we'd have a more united metropolitan region.

You should bring it up at the next West Shore Corridor meeting.  Perhaps someone among the government officials who attend would be inspired to carry the idea to NOACA and others?

You mean tomorrow (Friday)?

If possible and appropriate.... why not?

(Credit KJP.... he e-mailed this to me earlier today. Interesting that the venerable Wall Street Journal, who normally ignores or bungles stories about rail & transit, actually gets one right.)

 

http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB118114517667026496-lMyQjAxMDE3ODExMTExNDE1Wj.html

 

THE JOURNAL REPORT: ECONOMIC ROUNDUP

 

The Little Engine That Could

In many cities, the hottest development is taking place along the train lines

By KEMBA J. DUNHAM

June 11, 2007; Page R3

 

In cities across the country, mass-transit lines are the new frontier in urban development.

 

In dozens of cities -- from Charlotte, N.C., to Denver to Portland, Ore. -- the hottest redevelopment project is happening next to the local train station. Aging transit hubs and stops along new and expanded train lines are being transformed into multi-use developments that offer housing, retailing, restaurants and offices.

 

This transit-oriented development, as it's known, is being promoted by local officials and developers as a way to counter sprawl, reduce traffic on the roads and revitalize struggling urban neighborhoods. By some estimates, there are about 100 such developments in the U.S., with 100 more in the pipeline. Reconnecting America, a national nonprofit group that works to spur development around transit stops, forecasts that by 2030 the number of households near transit stations will rise to 16 million, from six million today.

 

Demographic and lifestyle shifts are among the primary reasons many cities and developers are willing to bet on transit-oriented development. A growing number of households include singles and retiring baby boomers who are opting to live in smaller homes in urban areas.

 

......

From the JULY/AUGUST 2007 issue of New Urban News

Capital region rail stations are fast becoming mixed-use hubs

 

Transit-oriented development flourishes in metropolitan Washington as the transportation authority teams up with the private sector.

 

Living, working, and shopping within a few hundred feet of a Metro commuter rail station is becoming increasingly common in Washington and its suburbs. Thanks to clogged highways, all-adult households, urban liveliness, and other factors, developers are rushing to construct housing, offices, and retail near stops on the regions 106-mile commuter rail system, which carries 725,000 riders a day.

 

.....

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This article is available in the July/August 2007 issue of New Urban News, along with images and many more articles not available online. Subscribe or order the individual issue.

http://www.newurbannews.com/CapitalJulAug07.html

Awesome

^D.C.'s public transit (Metrorail) is a pleasure to use.

August 20, 2007

D.C. rail helps spur $10 billion in new development

railwayage.com

 

Urban developer MacFarlane Partners says a WMATA light rail line now under construction is a major factor in its plans for developing 42 sites in the District of Columbia and its suburbs into properties that will be worth an estimated $10 billion when completed.

 

In an announcement today, MacFarlane said 60% of the sites are near or adjacent to stations on the three-mile Anacostia line, now under construction, as well as Washington Metro’s Red and Orange lines. "Our investment will further the development of high-density, commercial and residential space around transit hubs, which we believe will encourage the residents to use the Metro system as a primary means of transportation," said Victor B. Macfarlane, managing principal, chairman, and CEO.

 

http://www.railwayage.com/breaking_news.shtml

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1187576751202450.xml&coll=7

 

Less Driving is More Cash for Portland

Urban living - The metro area saves on mileage, a study finds, and mostly uses it to fill the local economy's tank

 

Monday, August 20, 2007DYLAN RIVERA The Oregonian Staff

 

Because Portland-Vancouver drivers log 20 percent fewer miles a day than most U.S. urban dwellers and spend less on cars and gasoline as a result, the region's economy saves $2.6 billion a year, or about 3 percent of the area's annual economic output, according to a new study for the Chicago-based CEOs for Cities...

 

 

 

Dylan Rivera: 503-221-8532; [email protected]

That's an absolutely awesome article!!! That says what I've presumed in my many writings and such about the West Shore Corridor project and the model it could offer to the rest of the metro area and Ohio.

Absolutely!  Being able to drive less or even get rid of a car is like giving yourself a pay raise.

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/transportation/337081_rtid27.html

 

Developers consider future with -- or without -- light rail

Last updated October 26, 2007 11:21 p.m. PT

 

By AUBREY COHEN

P-I REPORTER

 

Maps of a project planned for Bellevue's Bel-Red corridor include a light rail station adjacent to the 36-acre site.

 

Of course, the light rail route depends on voters approving Proposition 1 -- the latest roads-and-transit package -- on Nov. 6.

 

And even if the measure passes, trains wouldn't run past the site until years after the first buildings open, and the location of the proposed line and station could change.

 

......

 

 

Developer: Brunswick complex in good shape

The Maine Street Station design, to be unveiled Nov. 29, must meet standards set by the town.

By DENNIS HOEY Staff Writer

Portland (Maine) Herald

November 15, 2007

 

 

BRUNSWICK The company that plans to develop a $30 million

hotel, retail, office and residential complex in downtown

Brunswick is within days of finalizing its design.

 

JHR Development will show the public its design for Maine Street

Station on Nov. 29 during a meeting at the former high school.

 

......

 

http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=148035&ac=PHnws

http://blog.cleveland.com/westsidesunnews/2007/11/livable_communities_talk_dec13.html

 

Livable Communities talk Dec.13

 

A discussion on the link between sustainable real estate development patterns and transportation will be presented by the League of Women Voters from 7-9 p.m. Dec. 13 at Trinity Commons at Trinity Cathedral, 2230 Euclid Ave., in downtown Cleveland. The discussion is part of the LWV's First Thursday Forums.

 

Guest speaker Paul Volpe, founding principal and president of City Architecture Inc., will give a talk called "A New Era of Transportation For Livable Communities." The discussion will center on pedestrian- and transit-supportive development in an era of higher fuel prices, greater environmental awareness and increased interest in urban living.

 

Registration and dessert is $5 per person. Checks payable to "LWV-Cuyahoga Area Education Fund" should be mailed by Dec. 10 to the LWV, 50 Public Square #938, Cleveland, OH, 44113. Free parking is behind the cathedral, which is also accessible by the Nos. 6, 9, 55 and other bus routes.

 

For more information, call the LWV-Cuyahoga Area Office at (216) 781-0555.

Square ousting strip mall

Some want single-family homes, not high-rises

By Rosemary Winters

The Salt Lake Tribune

Article Last Updated: 12/28/2007 09:38:37 AM MST

 

    Urban living is coming to suburban Midvale.

    Developers are planning a sizable mixed-use project that could become a cornerstone for transit-oriented development around one of Midvale's two TRAX stations.

    South Jordan-based Caliber Homes plans to begin work on Center Square this spring, said Taylor Keys of IDC Real Estate Group, the project's broker. The property owner is Deseret Sky Development.

    Center Square will replace an aging strip mall, anchored by a Family Dollar Store, at 7720 South (Center Street) and 150 West. The new development will feature 8,000 square feet of retail space, 36,000 square feet of offices and 90 condominiums and town homes.

 

.......

   

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_7827167

They also will have access to meditation areas, community gathering spots and an on-site fitness center.

 

Meditation areas? OK...

 

Nooo!!! Not the Family Dollar!!!!  :-o

Anyone know how the tax benefit to encourage transit use by allowing commuters to purchase transit passes with pre-tax dollars got morphed into a benefit that also allows downtown commuters to receive the benefit for parking???

 

Earlier this week I received some information at work that explained the "Commuter Choice Benefit" and that it now includes a break for downtown parking fees. 

 

Congress always manages to mess things up...

 

 

 

 

Transit-oriented developments spring up near DART stops

 

11:13 AM CST on Friday, January 11, 2008

By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News

[email protected]

 

Off Walnut Hill Lane in northeast Dallas, demolition crews are making quick work of a sprawling neighborhood of crummy apartments.

 

In years past, that Lake Highlands property might have wound up being used for just more apartments or a strip shopping center or even single-family homes.

 

But that was before developers caught on to the benefits of mass transit.

 

......

 

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/stories/011108dnbustods.29812b1.html#

High Times in LoDo:

As it approaches its 150th anniversary, Denver has become a "Great City" with substantial new housing downtown

 

By ArchNewsNow

January 30, 2008

http://www.archnewsnow.com/features/Feature244.htm

 

The Denver Art Museum and Coors Field may be drawing visitors to the city, but what’s causing people to live in downtown Denver is the inspired redevelopment of the original site of the city.

 

In fact, what had declined into an abandoned rail yard by the South Platte River and an adjacent derelict warehouse section is now a thriving mixed-income community in short walking distance of the central business district, with a range of cultural and sports facilities, a major transit hub, and the new (1999), 30-acre Commons Park that leads to trails along the river and affords striking views of Denver’s skyline. Nice, very-Denver lifestyle!

 

 

........

 

 

As Denver enters its 150th year, the city is prepared to grow more and faster, to match Mayor Peña’s – and succeeding mayors Wellington Webb and John Hickenlooper’s – vision of greatness. The 2006 master plan approval for Continuum and East West to redevelop Denver Union Station presages a multimodal hub for the entire region. The $4.7 billion, 12-year transit expansion will create rail corridors and expand Denver’s bus service.

 

“The plan promotes the integration of development and transit into the LoDo neighborhood surrounding Union Station, allowing Riverfront Park residents to be as connected, or as separate, as they choose,” says 4240’s Johnson. “The development is contagious. It gives Denverites even more reason to live in Riverfront Park than before.”

 

 

INSIGHT: Transit-Oriented Design: An Evolution from Societal Convenience to Environmental Solution

TOD is the model for what multi-family housing will look like in the years ahead.

 

By John Burcher, AIA

February 12, 2008

 

The green movement is gaining wider acceptance within the residential sector. The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) recently noted that more than 8,200 single- and multi-family homes nationwide are involved in its LEED for Homes pilot program; 336 homes have already received LEED certification. Other market reports suggest that given housing market forecasts and other economic trends the market for green homes or sustainable components is expected to increase to 10% by 2010.

 

.......

 

 

http://www.archnewsnow.com/features/Feature243.htm

Looks like someone forgot to tell the transit-invested cities that there's a problem with the nation's real estate market.

U. seeks to turn west lot into an active hub

The plan calls for replacing Rice-Eccles parking with shops, offices and condos

By Brian Maffly

The Salt Lake Tribune

Salt Lake Tribune

Article Last Updated:04/07/2008 12:35:23 AM MDT

 

A key gateway to the University of Utah campus, where hundreds of TRAX riders board and exit trains every day, sprawls with asphalt.

 

U. officials are seeking to create an inviting pedestrian experience at this 8-acre parking lot west of Rice-Eccles Stadium by replacing it with a large mixed-use development, bringing together public transit, shops, restaurants, offices, parking and apartments at the southwestern corner of the campus.

"The desire is to create an exciting and vibrant experience for our university community as well as the patrons who come for educational purposes and special events," said Mike Perez, the U.'s facilities chief.

 

.......

 

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_8835427