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LESSONS LEARNED Tom Walsh recently participated in The Seaside Institute’s Advanced Program for Mixed-use Planning and Development in Montreal, Quebec. The program was a week-long, multi-disciplinary, hands-on workshop that brought together experts and professionals to learn, teach, and debate mixed-use issues. As part of the program, Tom presented the Three Biggest Mixed-use Development Challenges, which are summarized below: 1) The car – Providing an adequate balance of parking for residential and commercial without parking being the most visible use. Without a sufficient amount of parking (for those developments not located along transit), commercial uses will suffer, but with too much parking, the project can become “unwalkable” and appear deserted during certain times of the day or year. Parking decks, which can be concealed with buildings and facades, are often a great solution; however, they are often cost prohibitive or not allowed with a municipalities’ current regulations. 2) Getting government and private sectors to work together – Whether the issue is financing, zoning, sewer capacity, or fire code standards, the situation is best resolved when governments and private sectors work together from the very beginning of a project. For financial issues, governments cannot typically finance a mixed-use development alone and the private sector often needs help mitigating infrastructure costs. Working together, governments and the private sector are more successful at leveraging those initial funds that are needed to get a development out of the ground. 3) Vertical integration – Mixed-use buildings are often challenging during the planning process because of regulatory conditions that don’t allow vertical mixed uses. When regulatory conditions are in place that allow mixed uses, other issues come in to play: noise and odor proofing between residential and restaurants, access to residential units if there are leaks into retail/office space (controlled by condominium documents), and shared services, such as trash, security, and maintenance for common areas. |
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TSWnews: Summer 2008Update Your Profile | Unsubscribe |
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Brock Built, a local developer, asked TSW to participate in the WSB-TV Channel 2 “Going Green 2008” campaign. As part of the campaign, TSW’s Architecture and Landscape Architecture Studios prepared an environmentally-friendly redesign of a standard Brock Built single-family home, while retaining the original floor plan and size. Jerry Spangler was recently interviewed by WSB-TV for the campaign as part of a one-hour special that will air in September 2008 and will tell the story of all participants and the remarkable transformation of the West Highlands Community. 
Royal Westmoreland, a golf resort in Barbados, has just announced that they will add 250 new luxury properties and another 18-hole golf course to the development. TSW, which was responsible for planning and design for the first 500 acres, was recently retained to design phase two, which will make Royal Westmoreland the largest golf resort in the Caribbean. 
A recent Georgia Trend article showcased TSW planning and architecture projects from redeveloping communities across Georgia that are experiencing significant economic redevelopment, including Woodstock, Lawrenceville, Buford, and Norcross. TSW has played a vital role in the economic revitalization of these cities with planning and design projects that range from zoning ordinances and private development master plans to architecture for mixed-use buildings. 
Two mixed-use projects designed by the TSW Architecture Studio are currently under construction. Bolton Village, located in northwest Atlanta, will consist of six buildings, including neighborhood retail and office with residential above. Cornerstone on the Square, formerly known as West Crogan, is located in downtown Lawrenceville and is part of the on-going revitalization efforts taking place. The building includes street-level retail topped by residential units and adjacent townhouses. 
Caleb Racicot, Tom Walsh, Woody Giles, and Ross Wallace recently conducted a community workshop as part of the master planning process for the Loring Heights Neighborhood in Atlanta. 
Several TSW employees recently spent a Saturday volunteering with