Multi-Housing News - January 2009 - (Page 16)

development & design Walkable Neighborhoods Multifamily dwellers in diverse settings are craving a sense of place, easy access to retail and a feeling of community…and developers are listening By Keith Ray, AIA, MVE & Partners The two case studies below illustrate how walkable neighborhoods can be built new or integrated into urban fill settings. Additional renderings and photography can be seen online at www.multi-housingnews.com/walkable. Neighborhood rises in Arizona desert At The Pier at Town Lake, in Tempe, Ariz., near Phoenix, MVE & Partners and developer Laguna Pacific Builders face a unique set of challenges and opportunities. Scheduled for completion in 2010, this project will provide a new urban mixed-use community to revitalize the promenade and waterfront districts of Tempe Town Lake. The brandnew, 28-acre community will sit alongside an artificial lake, integrating an expansive water element with Arizona’s arid land quality to craft an iconic sense of place. To create a viable modern-day desert town requires the intelligent design of a wide range of building and project types, ranging from residential, commercial and hospitality to master planning resorts and urban developments. Here, from scratch, was the chance to create a sense of place, to master plan a network of walkways, streets and structures that evoke community. The setting provides multiple opportunities to enhance neighborhood by creating view corridors to the lake, mountains and city lights from residences, and planning wide tree-lined sidewalks and community-serving retail locations. At the same time, the powerful Arizona sun had to be mitigated, a challenge for desert-dwellers from the time of the Pyramids. At The Pier, the buildings will be massed and aligned to provide shade zones, and overhangs, shades and misters will be deployed to create comfortable settings. Parking will be placed underground. A signature example of master planning is the pier itself, which extends out into the lake and creates a promenade with boat slips. From the pier, residents and visitors will stroll to nearby al fresco dining, entertainment and other paseos. The plan is for The Pier to become a community not just about boating and walking the lake, but also about outdoor suppers, meeting places and entertainment enjoyed with friends and neighbors. We took some inspiration from neighborhoods along the Thames in London where super-energized outdoor gathering places double as expansive dining halls. In all, The Pier will include 874 residential units, 460,000 square feet of office space, a 285-room hotel and a 98,000-sq.-ft. spa and conference cen- 16 January 2009 | Multi-Housing News | Official Publication of Multi-Housing World http://www.multi-housingnews.com/walkable http://www.multi-housingnews.com/walkable

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Multi-Housing News - January 2009

Multi-Housing News - January 2009
Contents
From the Editor
Market Pulse
Executive Insight
Economic Forecast 2009: The Year Ahead
Apartment Market Outlook
Development & Design: Walkable Neighborhoods
Property Management: Handling Risk in a New Age
Directory: Top Brokers
Kitchen & Bath: Rehabs
Products: Noise Control
Technology: Property Management Software
Property Showcase: St. Regis, Bal Harbour

Multi-Housing News - January 2009