14C — August 30 - September 12, 2013 — Shopping Centers — Mid Atlantic Real Estate Journal
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s we continue the slow and steady climb out of the real estate develop- ment morass of the last five By Buck Collins, Bohler Engineering Mixed-use projects – the wave of the present A a critical component.
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The concept, like most con- cepts, is not a new one. The difference today is that municipalities are often the facilitators of the projects. It is common to see efforts made by cities, townships, boroughs and regional planning com- missions to initiate changes and modernization of their zoning ordinance. Often the catalyst is a desire to better manage car and truck traffic and reduce congestion. More often it is a broader attempt to right the wrongs of past local and regional planning that resulted in residential neighborhoods being segre- gated from retail uses, with office uses delegated to office parks and industrial uses in a far corner away from every- thing else. People had to drive to work, drive somewhere else to shop, somewhere else again for medical care and recreation and drive again to get back home. A closer examination sug- gests that there may be two drivers in this recent shift to mixed-use; sustainability and economics. The push towards an empha- sis on sustainability started with a concern for a cleaner environment and expanded to include adaptive re-use of ex- isting building and an effort to develop projects that will stand the test of time and not have to be torn down in 15 years, often referred to as “Smart Growth”. Today’s zoning codes increasingly encourage the “live, work, play” model. Busy lives are made easier by not having to drive everywhere. Less driving means fewer and smaller parking lots and walking more often.. Includ- ing outdoor active and passive recreation with other uses promotes more green space and a healthy lifestyle. Many of the projects are located near rail stations, bus stops and bike paths. These are re- ferred to as Transit Oriented Developments (TOD’s). TOD’s make good planning sense; including residential, work, play and transportation uses all in close proximity result in more sustainable projects and reduce environmental impacts and sprawl. The economic driver has a few components; developing projects that have lasting ap- peal are easier to sell or rent, have less turnover and are easier to finance. continued on page 26C
They come in every combi- nation, shape and form; retail with residential overhead, multi-floor retail under park- ing and hotel, retail malls with office building connected by pedestrian bridges and parking decks, office build- ings with top level residential condominiums and street level retail, and on and on. Some are being planned and developed with these intended uses and others are a repur- posing of existing buildings and/or sites to add or change original uses to re-emerge as mixed-use projects.
years, there is a notice- able prefer- ence for the creation of new “mixed- use” projects. Mi x e d - u s e refers to two or more types
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of uses on the same property, developed as one project and intended to have a synergy together. Almost all mixed- use projects include retail as
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