Shifting Suburbs

Reinventing Infrastructure
for Compact Development
Cover: Ice skating is one of a suite of year-
round activities offered at the Belmar project
in Lakewood, Colorado. (Belmar, Lakewood,
Colorado)
Shifting Suburbs
Reinventing Infrastructure
for Compact Development
 About ULI
The mission of the Urban Land Institute is to provide leadership in the responsible use of
land and in creating and sustaining thriving communities worldwide. ULI is committed to

■■ Bringing together leaders from across the fields of real estate and land use policy to
exchange best practices and serve community needs;
■■ Fostering collaboration within and beyond ULI’s membership through mentoring,
dialogue, and problem solving;
■■ Exploring issues of urbanization, conservation, regeneration, land use, capital
formation, and sustainable development;
■■ Advancing land use policies and design practices that respect the uniqueness of
both the built and natural environments;
■■ Sharing knowledge through education, applied research, publishing, and electronic
media; and
■■ Sustaining a diverse global network of local practice and advisory efforts that
address current and future challenges.
Established in 1936, the Institute today has nearly 30,000 members worldwide,
representing the entire spectrum of the land use and development disciplines. ULI
relies heavily on the experience of its members. It is through member involvement
and information resources that ULI has been able to set standards of excellence in
development practice. The Institute has long been recognized as one of the world’s
most respected and widely quoted sources of objective information on urban planning,
growth, and development.

Abbreviations and Acronyms

BAT business access and transit LRT light-rail transit
BRT bus rapid transit SR State Road
CoO Corridors of Opportunity TIF tax increment financing
DART Dallas Area Rapid Transit TOD transit-oriented development

© 2012 by the Urban Land Institute

Printed in the United States of America. All rights reserved.

Recommended bibliographical listing:

Urban Land Institute. Shifting Suburbs: Reinventing Infrastructure for Compact
Development. Washington, D.C.: Urban Land Institute, 2012.

ISBN: 978-0-87420-254-0

ii  |  Shifting Suburbs: Reinventing Infrastructure for Compact Development

About the ULI Infrastructure Initiative
The mission of the ULI Infrastructure Initiative is to promote more sustainable
infrastructure investment choices and to foster an improved understanding of the
links between infrastructure and land use. Because infrastructure is the foundation for
metropolitan prosperity, and because it provides the physical framework for real estate
investment, ULI has identified infrastructure as a key priority.

Established in 2007, the Initiative achieves its mission through a multifaceted program of
work that leverages ULI’s extensive public and private networks and includes research
and education, publications, and convenings.

ULI’s Infrastructure Initiative is led by full-time staff with a deep understanding of global
infrastructure challenges and opportunities. An advisory group composed of industry
leaders guides the program. Key ULI Infrastructure Initiative activities include

■■ A global infrastructure report, produced in collaboration with Ernst & Young since 2007;
■■ Ongoing programming to promote regional infrastructure solutions;
■■ Regular e-mail updates to infrastructure audiences; and
■■ Exploration of infrastructure topics relevant to ULI members and to ULI’s public and
private partners.

About This Report

This report is part of a series of activities exploring suburban infrastructure opportunities
and challenges. It includes observations from experts and leaders who participated in
two forums held in Atlanta, Georgia, and Minneapolis, Minnesota, investigating how to
plan and build infrastructure for compact development in the suburbs, along with other
research and analysis by the ULI Infrastructure Initiative.

This work stream explores

■■ How public and private sector stakeholders are working together to build and retrofit
suburban places;
■■ How infrastructure—including roads, transit, and more—can be transformed and
leveraged to support compact development;
■■ How local governments and regional coalitions can position themselves for compact
growth; and
■■ What funding, financing, and regulatory sources and tools are being used or are
needed.

Connect with the ULI Infrastructure Initiative

Visit the ULI Infrastructure Initiative’s website (http://www.uli.org/infrastructure) to learn
more about our work, and visit our blog (http://www.uli.org/infrastructureblog) to read
about news and research of interest to the ULI network. Follow us on Twitter (@uli_infra).
E-mail us to subscribe to our regular e-newsletter ([email protected]).

We welcome new partners and sponsors. Contact us to explore opportunities to work

with us ([email protected]).

Shifting Suburbs: Reinventing Infrastructure for Compact Development  | iii

 Acknowledgments
The ULI Infrastructure Initiative gratefully acknowledges the Rockefeller Foundation for
its support of this report and related activities. We also extend our thanks to ULI Atlanta
and ULI Minnesota for hosting programs exploring this topic, to the speakers and
attendees who participated, and to the many contributors to this report.

ULI Senior Executives ULI Project Staff

Patrick Phillips Rachel MacCleery
Chief Executive Officer Vice President, ULI Infrastructure Initiative

Cheryl Cummins Sarah Jo Peterson

Executive Officer Research Director, ULI Infrastructure
Initiative
Michael Terseck
Chief Financial Officer/Chief Casey Peterson
Administrative Officer Researcher, ULI Infrastructure Initiative

Richard M. Rosan James Mulligan

President, ULI Foundation Managing Editor

Joe Montgomery Joanne Platt, Publications

Chief Executive, Europe Professionals LLC
Manuscript Editor
David Howard
Executive Vice President, Development Betsy VanBuskirk
and ULI Foundation Creative Director

Kathleen B. Carey Deanna Pineda, Muse Advertising

Executive Vice President/Chief Content Design
Officer Graphic Designer
Lela Agnew Craig Chapman
Executive Vice President, Senior Director, Publishing Operations
Communications

Marilee Utter Authors

Executive Vice President, District
Councils Rachel MacCleery
Vice President, ULI Infrastructure Initiative

Casey Peterson
Researcher, ULI Infrastructure Initiative

Julie D. Stern
JDS Communications

iv  |  Shifting Suburbs: Reinventing Infrastructure for Compact Development

Contents
1 Part I. Introduction
2 Infrastructure for a More Compact, Walkable Future in the Suburbs
3 Suburban Development Types
4 Two Key Challenges and Opportunities
5 Thinking on a Broader Scale
6 The Infrastructure Piece of the Puzzle

7 Part II. Lessons Learned

8 Winning Strategies
9 Stumbling Blocks

11 Part III. Infrastructure for a New Suburbia: Case Studies from

Across America
12 Dublin, Ohio, and the Bridge Street Corridor
16 Aurora Corridor, Shoreline, Washington
20 Belmar, Lakewood, Colorado
24 State Road 7, Broward and Miami-Dade Counties, Florida
28 White Flint/Rockville Pike, Montgomery County, Maryland
32 West End, St. Louis Park, Minnesota
36 Richardson, Texas
40 CityCentre, Houston, Texas

43 Contributors
Part I. Introduction

In this report, the terms suburb and suburban

can refer to a place’s political or geographic
location, but, more important, they reference
its development form. The suburban places
explored in this report’s case studies began
as spread-out, automobile-oriented areas.
Suburban places can be found everywhere,
including within city boundaries.

A merica’s metropolitan areas have always been the scenes of dynamic change. In
the great metropolitan dance, suburbs and central cities have each played starring
roles in their turn, learning from each other, sharing missteps, collaborating, and
competing.

Until World War II, most metropolitan action happened in cities, which served as retail,
cultural, and workplace hubs. The suburbs were the boomtowns of the second half
of the last century, the repositories of the post–World War II American dream, where
ample space and strong consumer appetites combined to generate an unparalleled
prosperity. During that period, central cities struggled, their economies and populations
sapped by the suburban exodus and a host of political and policy failures.

The 1990s and early 21st century were a time of continued transformation for cities and
State Road 7 in Florida, before and after
suburbs alike. Many cities engineered remarkable economic turnarounds, employing a
improvements. Investments in bus stop
host of new tools to attract both private investment and people. Suburbs were changing infrastructure have made waiting for the bus
as well. Some continued to thrive, but challenges mounted too. Inner suburbs struggled more comfortable for passengers. (State Road 7
to update their image, infrastructure, and economic dynamism, whereas some outer Collaborative)

Shifting Suburbs: Reinventing Infrastructure for Compact Development  | 1

 suburbs faced a wave of foreclosures and the terrible convergence of personal and
civic financial crises.

At the same time, driven in part by powerful demographic forces, market preferences
have been shifting. Signs point to an increasing appetite—especially among generation
Y—for higher-density living patterns and for transportation options that include transit,
walking, and biking.

Over the last two decades, driven in part by a desire to attract and retain a young
talented workforce, suburban places have launched important initiatives aimed at
meeting shifting market demands. Across the country, dozens, if not hundreds, of
suburban places have worked to reimagine their future and to build or rebuild in more
compact and sustainable ways.

The signs point to continued change—and a continued need for innovation—in the
suburbs. The aging of the baby boomers—an upwardly mobile generation that helped
fuel decades of suburban growth—means that one engine of suburban expansion
is receding. According to the Brookings Institution, the suburbs are now home to
a greater proportion of people age 45 and older than are cities, as the baby boom
generation ages in place. In 2010, for the first time, the majority of the nation’s poor
lived in suburbs, as suburbs absorbed more of the national rise in metropolitan poverty.
Immigrants also make up an increasingly important component of the suburban
population.

The way that the U.S. Census Bureau aggregates population and economic data at the
regional level can make it challenging to quantify what is happening in suburban places,
and to compare that information with growth patterns in cities. But clearly, efforts at
suburban redevelopment and reinvention are continuing and will likely accelerate in the
years to come. As this transformation continues, infrastructure is and will be a key piece
of the compact suburban growth puzzle.

Infrastructure for a More Compact, Walkable Future

in the Suburbs
As American suburbs build in more compact ways—with higher-density development
clustered in nodes or along corridors and with increasing options for getting around
without a car—reworking or rethinking infrastructure can be essential. For compact
development to occur, developers and municipalities must determine how to plan,
fund, and finance the often costly and complicated infrastructure required for suburban
The case studies in this compact growth. That infrastructure can include transit investments, structured parking,
report illuminate the intricate street grids, sidewalks, streetlighting, and water, sewer, and other utility
infrastructure side of upgrades.

the suburban compact A rich body of work, undertaken by ULI and other organizations, explores what works
development story. and what does not work in suburban redevelopment, what is happening nationwide,
and where American suburbs are heading. This report complements that work by
providing case studies that highlight the infrastructure aspects of eight redevelopment
efforts from across the country.

The report looks at infrastructure in the context of the development project. It examines
the infrastructure that was built and how that infrastructure was paid for, in an effort to
illuminate the shape that infrastructure investments are taking and the tools being used
to fund and finance them.

2  |  Shifting Suburbs: Reinventing Infrastructure for Compact Development

 Before upgrades were made along the Aurora
Corridor in Shoreline, Washington, buses
obstructed traffic in order to pick up passengers
waiting without shelters. (City of Shoreline)

Suburban Development Types

The case studies explored in this report represent five overlapping compact and
walkable suburban development or redevelopment types:

■■ Suburban mall retrofits. Built on the site of dying or obsolete shopping malls,
these projects transform sprawling parking lots and mall complexes into compact,
mixed-use places. These projects take advantage of consolidated landownership
patterns and a sophisticated set of financing and regulatory tools. Examples included
in this report are Belmar, Colorado, and CityCentre in Houston, Texas.
■■ Suburban transit-oriented development. Many transit-oriented development
(TOD) opportunities are located in the suburbs. These projects seek to leverage
their location near fixed-rail transit stations or bus transit corridors to build in higher-
density ways, connecting the development with transit using sidewalks, bikeways,
and other kinds of transportation infrastructure. Examples included in this report are
projects in Richardson, Texas.
■■ Suburban arterials or commercial corridors. These efforts seek to transform
aging or dysfunctional land uses and transportation infrastructure along highly
traveled stretches of road. Such endeavors often focus on the densification of
identified nodes and involve investments in transit service, especially bus transit.
Examples in this report include State Road 7 in Florida and the Aurora Corridor
project in Shoreline, Washington. As described in more detail below, this type is
proving to be one of the most challenging forms of suburban redevelopment.
■■ Wholesale or large-scale suburban transformation. By their very nature,
such transformations are rare. The redevelopment of Tysons Corner in Fairfax,
Virginia—now simply called Tysons—is an example of an effort to reshape in a
fundamental way how a suburban place functions. Tysons has been explored
extensively elsewhere and is not included in this report. This report examines how
Dublin, Ohio, is attempting to launch a similar transformation. These efforts require
strong leadership and support from regional and local planning bodies, including
metropolitan planning organizations.

Shifting Suburbs: Reinventing Infrastructure for Compact Development  | 3

 ■■ Suburban town centers. Suburban town centers are being developed or enhanced
in many communities across the country. These mixed-use hubs offer many of the
options that a larger city might provide—entertainment, residential buildings, offices—
but in a suburban or small-town setting. Many suburban town centers are being
retrofitted on existing sites—Belmar, Colorado, is an example explored in this report—
but they can also be built on greenfield sites.
These typologies are not mutually exclusive; a suburban TOD might be built on the site
of an obsolete suburban mall, for example. And additional typologies likely exist. These
descriptions are offered as a helpful way of thinking about the compact suburban
development projects that are happening across the country.

Two Key Challenges and Opportunities

Over the last few decades, much progress has been made, and many lessons
have been learned, in the art and science of the redevelopment of suburban sites.
Looking both at the projects examined in this report and beyond them, two important
overlapping challenges and opportunities emerge. The rebirth of suburban arterials
and the reimaging of inner-ring suburbs for more compact growth will be essential
components of efforts to create a new kind of suburban future.

Suburban Arterials
Across the country, approaches to suburban arterials and commercial corridors remain
works in progress. Designed for easy access by car to retail destinations, or for the
swift movement of through-traffic, many of these corridors are disjointed jumbles of
strip retail centers, utility wires, narrow or nonexistent sidewalks, parking lots, and
extensive curb cuts. You get the picture.
Improvements along the Aurora Corridor have
included a new pedestrian bridge, landscaped For these places, it can be hard to imagine an alternate future, to say nothing of
medians, and upgrades to utility infrastructure. actually building one. Because of their important transportation role, and because of
(HDR Engineering Inc.) the development challenges they pose, they are often overlooked or disregarded as
priorities for redevelopment. And even when a vision is in place, coordination across
multiple jurisdictions, land assembly, prioritization of development nodes and sites
(often necessary because of the sheer volume of land involved), and infrastructure
investment needs all pose challenges—challenges that public and private stakeholders
are still developing tools to effectively address.

But commercial corridors and suburban arterials represent an important opportunity.

Despite being home to extensive amounts of large, underused and low-value land,
they are often the sites of important commercial, retail, and entertainment activities
in suburban locales. And despite their infrastructure challenges, they often have
preexisting transit service, especially bus service, that can be leveraged with targeted
investments like improved bus facilities and enhanced bus frequency.

How to make progress in unlocking the redevelopment potential of these corridors is an

area that deserves additional attention.

4  |  Shifting Suburbs: Reinventing Infrastructure for Compact Development

First-Ring Suburbs
First-ring suburbs are another area of opportunity. “America’s first-ring suburbs,” noted
ULI’s CEO Patrick Phillips, “could be the sweet spot for future growth.” In many cases,
these suburbs are already well served by transit, roads, and other transportation
infrastructure, including highways, and they were designed in an efficient, adaptable
urban pattern. They are home to well-established neighborhoods with mature trees
and other amenities and have the locational advantage of being close to the center of
a metropolitan region and to other suburbs. All of these features make inner suburbs
attractive places for redevelopment.

However, redevelopment in first-ring suburbs can be a challenge. Convincing residents

of the need for change can be difficult; local government bodies don’t always sing from
the same song book; and—importantly—modifying and upgrading the often outmoded
infrastructure that would make redevelopment feasible or attractive can be challenging
and expensive. In some cases, readily available redevelopment sites are not obvious.
Still, solving the redevelopment challenge in first-ring suburbs is an effort worth taking
seriously.

Thinking on a Broader Scale

Stepping back and looking at a broader, metropolitan-level scale, the implications
of changing demographics and preferences on regional transportation investment
priorities could clearly be profound; more compact growth trajectories could require
significant shifts in the types of transportation improvements that will be needed in the
coming years.

Metropolitan planning organizations have a critical role to play in understanding

and anticipating demographic and market shifts, and in ensuring the most
strategic use of increasingly scarce public transportation dollars. To the extent that
metropolitan planning organizations can help foster consensus around the need to
use transportation investments to help advance more compact forms of suburban
development, they will be key partners in the suburban redevelopment effort.

Houston’s CityCentre project, which replaced an

obsolete mall, emphasizes pedestrian-friendly
features and green space. (CityCentre)

Shifting Suburbs: Reinventing Infrastructure for Compact Development  | 5

 As the portal to critical transportation resources, state and local departments of
transportation are other key stakeholders. These agencies can help support compact
development by building or rebuilding multimodal, human-scale streets, prioritizing
investments in transit and transit-supportive infrastructure, modifying parking
requirements, and taking other related actions.

The Infrastructure Piece of the Puzzle

The U.S. population is expected to grow by another 95 million people over the next 30
years, making the United States one of the fastest-growing countries in the world. The
vast majority of that growth will take place in metropolitan areas, and as has been the
case in the last 40 years, the majority of metropolitan growth will likely occur outside the
central core, in suburban places.

Although the story of compact suburban development and redevelopment is not a

new one, it is one that is acquiring new energy. The good news is that the momentum
is shifting away from sprawling, auto-oriented growth patterns in many places. The
bad news is that changing the way development happens, and putting the appropriate
infrastructure and other policies in place, are still a formidable task—despite the
experience that the country is accumulating.

Compact development in the suburbs often requires extensive cross-jurisdictional

infrastructure planning and coordination, as well as the commitment of many different
players, including sometimes-overlapping local government entities, state departments
of transportation, developers, and others.

To ensure that today’s suburbs become more compact, sustainable places for the
future, stakeholders will need to work together to identify and implement innovative
solutions to infrastructure coordination, funding, and financing challenges.

Despite the progress made and lessons learned, these efforts are challenging, and
there is still work to be done. We hope that the case studies and lessons learned in
this report will shed light on the infrastructure piece of the suburban development and
redevelopment puzzle and will help inform continued efforts to develop more compact
and walkable places in the suburbs.

6  |  Shifting Suburbs: Reinventing Infrastructure for Compact Development

Part II. Lessons Learned

T he projects explored in part III of this report are works in progress. They run the gamut
from suburban mall retrofits and arterial or corridor reinventions to comprehensive
rethinking of development patterns for a whole town. Each project offers its own food for
thought, and in looking at this set of projects as a whole, themes emerge.

Key elements have been distilled here, providing insights into two basic questions:
What successful strategies have been employed to make progress toward building This rendering shows plans for the transfor­
more compact, pedestrian-friendly places? and What are the stumbling blocks that are mation of automobile-centric Rockville Pike in
obstructing additional progress? Montgomery County, Maryland, into a walkable,
transit-oriented corridor with center-running
Some of these elements are focused squarely on infrastructure, and some have broader bus rapid transit. (Federal Realty Investment
implications. Trust)

Shifting Suburbs: Reinventing Infrastructure for Compact Development  | 7

 Winning Strategies
What successful strategies have been employed to progress toward
building more compact, pedestrian-friendly places?
Partnerships. Effective partnerships are at the core of many of the efforts to transform
the suburban places explored in this report, with public and private sector partnerships
long recognized as essential. The West End project in Minnesota demonstrates the
value of long-term public and private collaboration. Partnerships among private sector
actors are also emerging as powerful organizing forces. In Montgomery County,
Maryland, the White Flint Partnership is aggregating the resources of key real estate
players to collectively address infrastructure challenges.

A comprehensive approach to infrastructure and access. Stakeholders from

many or most of the places explored in this report have creatively and comprehensively
considered the infrastructure and transportation needs of their projects. For the Belmar
project in Lakewood, Colorado, an urban street grid was the transportation pattern of
choice. Designers of Minnesota’s West End project carefully orchestrated the reworking
of utility infrastructure. And in the case of the Aurora Corridor in Shoreline, Washington,
project leaders are seeking to make the most of bus system improvements with
comprehensive upgrades to the corridor and public realm.

Programming and place management. If you build it, they will come. But will
they come back? The projects explored in this report are using a variety of strategies
to foster sustained engagement with customers and residents. Festivals, concerts,
farmers markets, and other special events draw visitors and interest to the CityCentre
Above: Mixed-use development makes for a project in Houston, as well as other projects in this report. Ongoing investment ensures
more walkable experience at Belmar. (City of a pleasant user experience. And organizational tools like business improvement districts
Lakewood) Below: The pedestrian bridge on the and community improvement districts apply coordination and promotion methods,
Aurora Corridor connects to the three-mile (4.8 some developed for shopping mall or downtown contexts, to suburban places. These
km) Interurban Trail network. (City of Shoreline) are the soft infrastructure strategies needed for success.

Public space and plazas; trails and sidewalks. Sidewalks and trails provide the
connective tissue for compact suburban places, and public space and plazas can
provide the heart. Much more than an afterthought, they are essential infrastructure
elements. CityCentre Houston’s central plaza is the gathering point for hundreds of events
each year, and upgraded, 7.5-foot-wide (2.3 m) sidewalks and landscaped medians
are providing pedestrian access along Washington’s Aurora Corridor. Public realm
investments are at the core of the efforts to reinvent the White Flint area in Maryland.

Proactive planning. Putting the planning pieces in place—market studies,

infrastructure strategies, zoning changes—can help facilitate and attract compact
growth. Whether the target for transformation is large scale or site specific, proactive
planning can remove uncertainty, speeding redevelopment and ensuring that it
happens according to a larger vision for the community. Dublin, Ohio, is an example of
a place that is carefully laying the groundwork for more compact future development.

Stakeholder engagement and buffering of existing neighborhoods. Public

involvement can help tame opposition to and build support for projects. Richardson,
Texas, has built extensive public engagement into its transit-oriented development
strategy, and the White Flint, Maryland, partners harnessed the power of social media
to build public support for the corridor’s transformation. A clear articulation of public
benefits was essential. And a commitment to protecting existing neighborhoods from
development impacts, including increased traffic, meant that a road in the West End
project in Minnesota could not be extended.

8  |  Shifting Suburbs: Reinventing Infrastructure for Compact Development

Riding the demographic wave. The localities examined in this report are working to
capitalize on growing demand for compact, walkable places. Members of generation Y,
America’s largest single generation since the baby boomers, favor a more urban vibe.
Dublin, Ohio, is an example of a place making a major mental and programmatic shift: it
is retooling its sprawling suburban downtown to compete in a shifting marketplace and
to attract companies that care greatly about where their workers (or potential workers)
want to live. Dublin recognizes that it can ride the demographic wave, or risk missing it.

Many sources of funding. To build the transformative infrastructure required by

these projects, many different sources of funding and a variety of financing tools
were necessary. In the White Flint area of Maryland, special property assessments
volunteered by the property owners are paying for a portion of the transportation costs.
A nearly $2 million federal grant, along with assistance from a number of foundations,
has helped State Route 7 stakeholders in Florida create a plan for the road. In Belmar,
Colorado, the developer fronted the transportation construction costs and is slowly
being repaid by the city. For these projects, no one-size funding approach would fit.

Stumbling Blocks
What are the stumbling blocks that are obstructing additional
progress? And what are some potential avenues for change?
Trouble working across boundaries. Compact development in the suburbs
often requires extensive cross-jurisdictional planning and coordination, as well as
the commitment of many different players, including sometimes-overlapping local
government entities, state departments of transportation, developers, and others.
Although both the Corridors of Opportunity project in Minneapolis–Saint Paul and the
State Route 7 effort in Florida show how regions are striving to crack this nut, working
across boundaries or jurisdictions remains a challenge just about everywhere.

Although not all suburban redevelopment projects cross political boundaries, many do.
And even those that do not often rely on regional investments in transit, for example,
or they can run into other regional challenges (in Shoreline, Washington, for example,
corridor improvements end at the jurisdiction’s southern border with Seattle).
Houston’s CityCentre project emphasizes high-
quality design. (CityCentre)
Looking forward, the development and adoption of creative models for regional cooperation
and investment will be an important component of efforts to redevelop the suburbs.

Funding. Although local leaders and developers have become adept at pulling together
many sources of funding (see above), finding the resources to plan and build projects,
and to make the infrastructure investments needed, remains a challenge. For every
project built, there are likely many that were unable to proceed because of a lack of
funding.

Looking forward, two funding opportunities are worthy of particular attention. The first
is ensuring that state transportation dollars are going to transportation investments
that support compact development in the suburbs. Building or rebuilding complete
streets that meet the needs of all users, and making other investments that help lay the
groundwork for redevelopment, are important priorities.

Shifting Suburbs: Reinventing Infrastructure for Compact Development  | 9

 The second is the opportunity to develop and use more sustainable funding solutions
that capitalize on and reinforce the link between transportation—especially transit—and
land use/real estate. These solutions include the use of value-capture mechanisms
that leverage real estate or property values to pay for infrastructure, such as special
assessment districts or tax increment financing (TIF).

Skill sets. Developing suburban areas into more compact, urban, walkable
environments can require a new set of skills on the part of public entities and private
sector developers alike. Traffic analyses can require new paradigms—for example,
acceptance of higher levels of projected congestion or a willingness to dedicate a travel
lane to transit. Often, zoning must be modified, new public/private partnerships must be
crafted, new financing arrangements must be established, parking must be rethought,
new designs must be created, and other shifts must be made in order for dense,
mixed-use projects to be possible.

These paradigm shifts require deviations from business as usual, and sometimes a
leap of faith on the part of the various parties involved. Looking forward, as compact
Public hearings and charrettes guided planning suburban projects become more common, skill sets will become more developed. In
efforts by the State Road 7 Collaborative. (State the meantime, this area is an important opportunity for more learning and exchange.
Road 7 Collaborative)
Entitlements and zoning. Getting the approvals necessary to move forward with
projects—even those that are widely supported by local leaders—can be time-
consuming and expensive. Although approval processes are important mechanisms
for protecting community values, they can add elements of uncertainty that cloud the
future of suburban redevelopment.

Looking forward, improving the zoning and entitlement process to facilitate compact
suburban development is an important effort that community leaders seeking this kind
of development should consider taking on.

Community resistance. Community resistance to suburban development or

redevelopment projects can slow them down, or kill them entirely. And fear of
opposition can push development efforts away from suburban locations before they
even get started. Winning over skeptical residents can appear a daunting task, but it
is one worth making, and early and consistent stakeholder engagement is a critical
component of suburban redevelopment efforts.

Looking ahead, social media will be an important tool—joining more traditional tools
like community meetings—in winning support for redevelopment. A clear articulation
of benefits, the creation of measures to ensure that existing single-family homes are
buffered from development impacts (by stepping down heights or density, for example),
and thoughtful integration of existing and new development, residents, and businesses
can be other important components in the efforts to win community support.

10  |  Shifting Suburbs: Reinventing Infrastructure for Compact Development

Part III. Infrastructure for a
New Suburbia: Case Studies
from Across America
 Dublin, Ohio, and the Bridge Street Corridor
Dublin, a wealthy suburban Lessons from Dublin
community located 13 ■■ Demographic shifts and enlightened self-interest create new opportunities for
miles (21 km) northwest communities to position themselves for more compact and sustainable growth.
of downtown Columbus, ■■ Companies making decisions about where to locate today are focused on where
has launched a bold effort talented young workers want to be instead of—as in the past—where CEOs
want to live.
to reimagine its core,
located along the central ■■ Dublin’s public leaders have proactively launched an overarching planning effort,
rather than waiting to respond to specific development proposals.
axis of Bridge Street.
Rather than continuing old
patterns of growth, Dublin H ome to several corporate headquarters, Dublin has been one of the fastest-growing
cities in the state, with its population increasing from only 300 in 1970 to around
40,000 in 2010. By most measures—fiscal health, resident satisfaction, levels of public
is positioning itself for a service, quality-of-life indicators, and others—Dublin has been an extremely successful
suburban community, riding the wave of forces that drove the suburbanization of
compact, walkable future. development activity nationally over the last 40 years.

Recognizing that the forces shaping the next 40 years of development will likely be very
different, Dublin has launched an ambitious plan to rethink and convert the 1,000-acre
(405 ha) core of its community. Located along Bridge Street and bounded on the north
by Interstate 270, this section of the city is slated for transformation from a low-density,
Above: Dublin’s vision includes a pedestrian bridge automobile-dependent area into a dense, mixed-use, and pedestrian-friendly corridor
connecting a park to the historic district across
composed of seven new districts, with new offices and compact residential buildings
the Scioto River. (Goody Clancy/City of Dublin,
Ohio)
complementing a preserved historic downtown.

Preceding page, clockwise from top left: As city manager, Terry Foegler helped lead the plan to transform Dublin. Examining
Developers of CityCentre inserted a street grid demographic trends, Foegler recognized that the market forces that had shaped Dublin
into what was formerly a mall; the Aurora Corridor over the last 40 years were shifting: Dublin needed to provide housing options for
provides a vital link into downtown Seattle;
talented young professionals and other workers, in order to position itself to appeal to
the State Road 7 Collaborative engaged local
companies as a place where those workers want to live. Its aging baby boomers were
citizens in planning activities. (CityCentre, HDR
Engineering Inc., State Road 7 Collaborative)
also seeking different types of housing products and environments.

12  |  Shifting Suburbs: Reinventing Infrastructure for Compact Development

 This rendering, part of the Bridge Street Corridor
Vision Plan, shows how Dublin is reimagining its
future. (Goody Clancy/City of Dublin, OhiO)

What emerged from the city’s planning process was “a development idea radically
different from anything Dublin has ever experienced,” said Foegler. A new vision plan for
the city was adopted in October 2010.

Market studies estimated that demand for office space and retail space will continue to
be strong in Dublin over the next 20 years. City leaders are aiming to absorb as much of
that growth as possible in the Bridge Street corridor, and they have modified zoning to
accommodate it, shifting to form-based codes. Residential density could intensify from
the city’s current limit of five units per acre (12 units/ha) in its highest-density multifamily
zone to 50, 60, or even 70 units per acre (125, 150, or 175 units/ha) within the corridor.

Integrating and leveraging the design and implementation of key infrastructure projects
with the proposed private investments will be key to advancing Dublin’s vision. The
An aerial photo shows existing conditions in the
city’s east–west corridor of Bridge Street is a busy state highway made up of four lanes Bridge Street corridor. (Google Maps)

Shifting Suburbs: Reinventing Infrastructure for Compact Development  | 13

The Bridge Street Corridor Vision Plan is guiding and a median. Working with the Ohio Department of Transportation, Dublin hopes to
the redevelopment of land uses in Dublin. (Goody modify the street to accommodate potential future transit service and to make other
Clancy/City of Dublin, OhiO) improvements, including building wider sidewalks and green spaces. The city also has
plans to add an extensive grid pattern of roadways, as well as connections bisecting the
corridor, to provide alternatives to driving through the downtown historic district.

Dublin is now moving toward implementing the first elements of its 2010 vision plan.
Detailed traffic and infrastructure impact studies have been conducted, and the city has
drawn up transportation guidelines. Most recently, Dublin has completed fiscal impact
and infrastructure modeling and has adopted a form-based zoning code. The city is
exploring opportunities for using tax increment financing, special assessment districts,

This rendering shows improvements to the park

and path system, with residential development
located near green space. (Goody Clancy/City
of Dublin, OhiO)

14  |  Shifting Suburbs: Reinventing Infrastructure for Compact Development

and public/private partnerships to fund public infrastructure—including structured
parking, new streets, and public spaces. Developers have responded with a number
of high-density redevelopment project proposals that are currently under review by
the city.

Dublin is approaching its economic transformation from a position of strength,

anticipating future demographic shifts and modifying infrastructure and land use so
that population and employment will continue to grow—and grow in more sustainable
ways—in the coming decades. It is aiming to maintain a high quality of life while
positioning itself to remain competitive within the context of future drivers of growth.

Dublin is planning a new, dense network of

streets. (Goody Clancy/City of Dublin, Ohio)

Shifting Suburbs: Reinventing Infrastructure for Compact Development  | 15

 New bus stops and business access and transit lanes improve the current bus system, which will be
included in regional RapidRide upgrades in 2013. (City of Shoreline)

Aurora Corridor, Shoreline, Washington

The Aurora Corridor, an
Lessons from the Aurora Corridor
arterial in suburban Seattle,
■■ Bus rapid transit can help foster the development of a horizontally mixed-use
is making a suite of bold corridor and make possible a walkable lifestyle for those who live along it.
infrastructure investments. ■■ Suburban arterials can be made more attractive, functional, and safe for
Investments in sidewalks, automobiles and pedestrians alike.
utility lines, and transportation
infrastructure are helping T hree miles (4.8 km) of State Road 99, referred to locally as Aurora Avenue North, run
through Shoreline, a suburban community with a population of about 53,000 people
the corridor position itself that abuts Seattle’s northern border. Before it was rebuilt, it had four travel lanes and
one turn lane, and carried a large amount of through- and local traffic—40,000 vehicles
to take advantage of market and 7,000 bus riders used the corridor each day. The highly congested, complicated
road was plagued by one of the highest accident rates in the state, with nearly one
trends and regional bus accident per day and one fatality per year. With few sidewalks or curbs, conditions on
system upgrades. the corridor did not support walking or transit use.

Land uses within the corridor were part of the problem. Although the corridor is
Shoreline’s Main Street, housing about 90 percent of the city’s taxable value, the
community wanted to address the strip pattern of gas stations, shopping centers,
convenience stores, and auto-oriented businesses, as well as “colorful” businesses like
adult clubs and tobacco and alcohol stores.

An extensive planning and community involvement process was initiated in 1998.

A new pedestrian bridge enhances connectivity The City Council adopted a concept design in 1999 that called for improving safety,
along the Aurora Corridor in Shoreline. (City supporting increased transit, balancing local and regional movements, catalyzing
of Shoreline) economic growth, improving aesthetics, and preserving existing neighborhoods.

16  |  Shifting Suburbs: Reinventing Infrastructure for Compact Development

In 2005, the city of Shoreline began a comprehensive overhaul of the corridor.
Infrastructure improvements on the majority of the corridor, from 145th to 192nd Street,
are complete, and the project’s first phase won a 2008 Award of Excellence for Best
City Project from the Federal Highway Administration and the Washington State
Department of Transportation. The right-of-way plan for the remaining streetscape
from 192nd to 205th Street has been approved by the state of Washington, with
construction scheduled for January 2013.

Construction is expected to be completed in 2014 and to cost about $120 million,

with funding drawn from the city’s capital improvement program and a mix of county,
state, and federal dollars. The city has become adept at chasing external grants and
funding to pay for the project; Shoreline taxpayers have covered only 10 percent of
the project cost.

When completed, Aurora Avenue will feature landscaped medians, 7.5-foot (2.3 m)
sidewalks on each side set four feet (1.2 m) back from the road, overhead utility lines
relocated underground, new lighting, a north−south multimodal trail paralleling the
road, and a public plaza to provide recreational and gathering space. Colored, scored
concrete and artwork enhance crossings at intersections. The new corridor features
two travel lanes in each direction. The original two-way center turn lane has been
converted to a landscaped median with focused left-turn lanes and U-turn pockets.
This map shows the three-mile (4.8 km) scope
of the Aurora Corridor investments. (City of
In tandem with the transportation investments, the city upgraded utility infrastructure,
Shoreline)
including water, sewer, electricity, and communications conduits, at a cost of about
$3,750 per frontage foot ($12,375/m). Unsightly power lines have been moved
underground, and street lighting has been improved.

These investments are positioning Shoreline to take advantage of enhanced regional

bus service that is expected in 2013, called RapidRide (see sidebar). Within Shoreline,
bus reliability and travel times will be improved by the creation of new BAT (business
access and transit) lanes, an innovation developed by the city, where right-hand lanes
in each direction will be restricted to buses and right turns. “We invented the BAT term,” These images show the Aurora Corridor before
and after improvements, which included
said Kirk McKinley, transportation services manager for the city of Shoreline and project
reconfiguration of traffic, creation of sidewalks
manager for the Aurora Corridor project, “because we had so much concern from and landscaped medians, installation of new
the business community about walls of buses blocking views of their businesses. We lighting, and more. (City of Shoreline)

Shifting Suburbs: Reinventing Infrastructure for Compact Development  | 17

 RapidRide in King County,
Washington
The Aurora Corridor project is seeking to take
advantage of bus enhancements planned decided to spin it around and call them ‘business access’ lanes, and that’s been
throughout King County, Washington. When very helpful.”
the system is completed, the county will
Dan Eernissee, economic development manager for the city of Shoreline and a former
be home to 64 miles (103 km) of bus rapid
private sector developer, said that the investments are encouraging local landowners—
transit service in semidedicated lanes.
many of whom are absentee landlords or trust funds—to redevelop their properties.
Six high-usage bus corridors were chosen “The city has to think like a developer,” Eernissee advised, “to ask, ‘What’s going to
catalyze the landowner to go out and find funds and invest in that property, to do
for significant upgrades in bus service,
something different?’ You need to increase the spread between costs and rental
branded RapidRide. RapidRide’s hybrid income.”
buses along the six lines arrive every ten
minutes during peak periods and every 15
minutes during off-peak periods, and real-
time displays at each station let passengers
know when the next bus is coming. Other
intelligent transportation system upgrades
employed throughout the system include an
off-board payment system and traffic signal
prioritization for approaching buses.

Four of the six lines have been completed to

date. The final two bus rapid transit lines,
which will extend RapidRide service to the
Aurora Corridor in Shoreline and to South
King County, will be completed in September
2013. Complementary transportation
investments in the road and pedestrian
infrastructure are being made in selected
locations throughout the system.

Funding for RapidRide is being drawn from

a variety of local, state, and federal sources.
At the local level, RapidRide has received
$70 million in local capital investment, and a
one-cent sales tax approved by King County
voters in 2006 covers about 60 percent
of the system’s operating costs. Seattle’s
Bridging the Gap initiative, also passed
in 2006, is helping fund road and traffic
improvements that will enhance bus speed
and service. RapidRide has also accumulated
$120 million in state and federal grants,
including $93 million from the Federal Transit
Administration’s Very Small Starts grant
program. In November 2011, a $37.5 million
federal grant was approved to fund the
system’s final two corridors.

18  |  Shifting Suburbs: Reinventing Infrastructure for Compact Development

 New bus stops, business access and transit lanes,
and other improvements set the stage for regional
RapidRide upgrades to come in 2013. (City of
Shoreline)

As examples of how a city can reduce costs, Eernissee suggested lowering fees,
changing zoning, speeding up the development approval process, and improving
infrastructure. As examples of what cities can do to enable landowners to increase
rents, Eernissee suggested place making—creating appealing locations where people
want to live, work, and play—and reducing the cost of living by providing transit.

Eernissee also focused on what bus rapid transit (BRT) can offer. “With stops about
a half mile [0.8 km] apart, the entire corridor—not just station areas—is activated. No
one’s going to ask, ‘Do I live near a station?’ Instead, they’ll ask, ‘Do I live on the line?’
That’s what we have to sell.” The city staff projects that living along the BRT line will
save motorists between $2,000 and $8,000 a year while connecting places along the
line and system. The BRT line will allow for a horizontally mixed-use corridor, without
the high costs and development expertise required to create a great vertical mixed-use
development.

Although the corridor improvement project is not yet complete, the results have already
been impressive, with accidents falling 60 percent and some redevelopment activity
occurring—including a five-acre (2.0 ha) parcel that will include senior housing, market
rate and affordable housing, and a new YMCA building. However, Shoreline faces
challenges it can’t control. Immediately south of Shoreline, State Road 99 remains
unchanged, and the city of Seattle and Washington State Department of Transportation
currently have no plans to upgrade the road.

Facing page: Infrastructure improvements have

made the Aurora Corridor much more appealing.
(City of Shoreline)

Shifting Suburbs: Reinventing Infrastructure for Compact Development  | 19

 Belmar, Lakewood, Colorado
With a population of
Lessons from Belmar
144,000, Lakewood is
■■ The urban-scale street grid is a classic choice.
Colorado’s fifth-most-
■■ Innovative financing arrangements can enable a private landowner to build
populous city. Located infrastructure, with public reimbursements to follow.
immediately west of
■■ The competitive advantage that compact, mixed-use development can have is
Denver, the suburb is demonstrated by Belmar.
now home to Belmar, a
mixed-use, compact, and
sustainable urban-style
N amed after the former Belmar estate on which it sits, Belmar was designed to give
Lakewood a downtown. The massive 103-acre (42 ha) site has been transformed
into 3.3 million square feet (306,580 m2) of new development on 22 urban-scale blocks.
Nearing complete buildout, Belmar now contains 880,000 square feet (81,755 m2) of
center built on the site of retail space, 250,000 square feet (23,226 m2) of office space, 5,000 public parking
the Villa Italia Mall. spaces, 800 residential units (a mix of owner-occupied and rental housing), and two
education institutions, as well as public plazas, art, and green space.

When it opened in the mid-1960s, the Villa Italia Mall—composed of 1.2 million
Above: Belmar’s ice skating rink is an important
square feet (111,484 m2) of mall space and surface parking lots—was one of the most
amenity in the new community-oriented town
center. (Belmar, Lakewood, Colorado) productive regional malls west of the Mississippi River. For several decades, it was
a vital member of the Lakewood community; at its peak in 1994, it generated $3.12
Facing page: Belmar features townhouses built million in sales taxes. But by the late 1990s, occupancy had declined, storefronts
in the American mercantile style. Insets: Belmar
were boarded up, and the property was in need of redevelopment. In 1997, city voters
added new life to an obsolete shopping mall. (City
of Lakewood)
authorized the use of urban renewal powers.

20  |  Shifting Suburbs: Reinventing Infrastructure for Compact Development

Having to choose between building another mall and developing something entirely
new, city officials decided to repurpose the massive site in a way that would achieve
civic and economic goals. In 1998, the city formed a partnership with Denver-based
Continuum Partners to redevelop the mall.

Building the right infrastructure has been a key consideration. After clearing the site and
conducting environmental remediation in 2001, Continuum Partners designed a new
grid-based street system, with a matrix of 22 streets scaled to the size of city blocks.
The city assumed ownership of the streets after completion. Belmar features wide
sidewalks and narrow roads, encouraging walking and slowing traffic. Over-the-road
cable lighting creates atmosphere and a sense of intimacy. Parking is concentrated in
three large public garages with a total of 3,000 spaces, in addition to roughly 2,000
street and surface spaces. When the Denver area’s light-rail West Line, which will run
east–west about two miles (3.2 km) north of Belmar, opens in 2013, existing bus service
with increased frequency will connect it to Belmar.

The entire site was rezoned to launch a phased development process in which the
purpose of the blocks could be determined over time. To date, 800 new housing units
have been built, a mix of apartments, condominiums, townhomes, and zero-lot-line
homes. In addition to being compact, the housing is constructed in the American
mercantile style, reflecting Denver’s architectural history. Retailers on the site include a

Shifting Suburbs: Reinventing Infrastructure for Compact Development  | 21

 mix of national chains (including Target—designed in an innovative fashion, with ground-
floor parking below second-story retail—Whole Foods, Nordstrom Rack, and Best Buy)
and local businesses, some of which receive subsidized rents to withstand increases in
rents. A number of civic and cultural spaces were also developed to encourage creative
and cultural activity in the area. A movie theater and a bowling alley round out Belmar’s
retail offerings.

Open space is an important component of the development, making up nine acres (3.6
ha) of the site. An urban park and public plaza serve as Bellmar’s center and social hub.
A commitment to increasing energy efficiency and reducing emissions has resulted
in several buildings being certified as LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design) structures. Belmar also has one of the country’s largest solar panel systems,
with 8,000 solar panels that generate 20 percent of the site’s energy needs. Almost 88
percent of the materials used in construction by weight were recycled or reused from
the former mall site.

Funded through a public/private partnership, the roughly $850 million Belmar project
has been financed with a combination of government bonds, federal grants, and equity
from Continuum. To date, $160 million has been spent on infrastructure improvements,
$40 million of which was financed by developer equity. (The garages alone cost $35
million, or about $14,000 per space.)

22  |  Shifting Suburbs: Reinventing Infrastructure for Compact Development

The bonds for the project are backed primarily by a property tax increment pledge and
the imposition of a 2.5 percent public improvement fee by the developer on retail sales.
To offset the public improvement fee, the city has waived 2 percent of the 3 percent
sales tax on the site. Using revenues from the public improvement fee and property tax
increment, Continuum will be reimbursed for the public infrastructure by 2028, reported
Larry Dorr, director of finance for the city of Lakewood.

Belmar has dramatically increased the walkability, diversity, and attractiveness of

the area by providing Lakewood with the downtown it never had. People come to
Belmar from a wider area, more often, and at many different times of day than they did
when the mall was there. Programmed activities, including farmers markets, holiday
happenings, and an annual Italian festival, are creating new traditions for Lakewood’s
residents.

Although sales figures at Belmar declined during the recent recession, they decreased
less than sales did elsewhere, indicating the strength, durability, and appeal of Belmar’s Above and facing page: Belmar shoppers take
retail offerings. Residential activity has also been satisfactory. Future phases will include advantage of the site’s wide sidewalks. (Belmar,
Lakewood, Colorado) Facing page, insets: The
even more housing (the property is zoned for 2,000 units), as well as other uses—
Villa Italia Mall was razed and redeveloped as
including, possibly, a hotel. “People ask me all the time, when will Belmar be finished?”
the Belmar project, a mix of retail businesses,
said Dorr. “And I don’t know—not only when it will be finished but what it might look like
programmed open space, and housing. (City of
when it is. The market is going to drive that.” Lakewood)

Shifting Suburbs: Reinventing Infrastructure for Compact Development  | 23

 State Road 7, Broward and Miami-Dade
Counties, Florida
A broad coalition of stake­
Lessons from State Road 7
holders has been working ■■ A consensus vision and a master plan can help organize the infrastructure and
for more than a decade development efforts of multiple municipalities along commercial corridors.
to reshape State Road 7, ■■ Funding for collaborative efforts and infrastructure improvements can be drawn
a north–south arterial from federal, state, and local sources, as well as nonprofits and foundations.
highway in southeastern
Florida, into a more multi­ S tate Road 7 (SR-7) is a north–south arterial highway that runs through southeastern
Florida’s Broward and Miami-Dade Counties. Also designated U.S. Highway 441
modal corridor with dense for most of its length, the arterial is used by several popular bus routes and is frequently
congested. SR-7 is squeezed between two bodies of water—the Everglades and the
development at specific Atlantic Ocean.

nodes. SR-7 is lined with commercial strip development built in the 1960s and 1970s—aging
businesses that are having trouble competing with newer retail areas along other roads
nearby. Strong population figures, tourist activity, and a lack of available vacant land for
new development indicate strong redevelopment potential for the corridor.

In 2000, local government leaders along the 32-mile (52 km) route formed the State
An improved public space along State Road 7 Road 7/U.S. 441 Collaborative. Now stretching to 41 miles (66 km), the collaborative
has received a strong reception. (State Road 7 is the longest revitalization effort in the country. The goal of the collaborative—which
Collaborative) includes all 17 of the municipalities that SR-7 traverses and is supported by the South

24  |  Shifting Suburbs: Reinventing Infrastructure for Compact Development

 Photos of existing conditions on State Road 7
show an automobile-dominated corridor with
few amenities for transit riders. (State Road 7
Collaborative)

Florida Regional Planning Council—is to create a mixed-use, transit-oriented corridor

with high-density activity centers located at primary intersections.

The collaborative has undertaken extensive planning and community outreach activities,
funded in part by a $1.9 million grant from the U.S. Federal Highway Administration.
A ULI Advisory Services panel visited the corridor in 2004 and suggested that nodal
redevelopment take place at the highway’s major and minor intersections, with less Below left: A rendering depicts plans to redesign
intensive redevelopment between those nodes. Community input, gathered through the Greenway Canal in Lauderdale Lakes for
charrettes and interviews, revealed that citizens wanted redevelopment, improved recreational use. Below: A map shows the State
public transit facilities and services, and new housing for all income levels, among Road 7 Collaborative area, which stretches 41
miles (66 km) and spans 17 municipalities. (State
other goals. “The charrette and the planning process set the stage,” according to Gary
Road 7 Collaborative)
Rogers, executive director of the Lauderdale Lakes Community Redevelopment Agency
and vice chair of the SR-7 Collaborative. BROWARD COUNTY
SR 7/US 441 CORRIDOR
CHARRETTE SEGMENT MAP
A strategic master plan for Broward County was adopted in 2004, with multiple updates
since then. That plan changed the land use designation along SR-7 to “transit-oriented PARKLAND
HILLSBORO BLVD

corridor” and promoted smart growth principles. A right-of-way improvement plan

DEERFIELD
BEACH

SAWGRASS EXPRESSWAY

specifies recommended streetscape improvements, and three-dimensional site plan COCONUT

CREEK

regulations offer clear, concise descriptions. The hope is that with the appropriate CORAL SPRINGS

LYONS RD
infrastructure and regulatory framework in place, further redevelopment—including the
SAMPLE RD

addition of dense office, retail, and residential space—will occur.

MARGATE

SR7
COPANS RD
ROYAL PALM B

L E G E N D
LVD

ROCK ISLAND RD
COCONUT CREEK PKY
SR 7 / US 441
ATLA

Major infrastructure changes to be implemented include the widening of SR-7 to

N T IC
B L VD
Roads

E
IK
POMPANO

NP
SR 7 / US 441
accommodate future transportation needs in some areas, as well as street-width

R
BEACH

TU
Primary Corridor

'S
NORTH

DA
1 Mile East / West LAUDERDALE

RI
UNIVERSITY DR

W MCNAB RD

O
MCNAB RD
Boundary

FL
NW 62ND ST

NW 9TH AVE
BAILEY RD
FORT
FEBRUARY 2004 COMMERCIAL BLVD
LAUDERDALE

TAMARAC

NW 44TH ST

OAKLAND
LAUDERHILL LAUDERDALE PARK
LAKES NW 31ST AVE

SUNRISE
US 441

SUNRISE BLVD

BROWARD BLVD
FORT
PLANTATION LAUDERDALE

PETERS RD DAVIE BLVD

I595
SR84

0 1 2
DAVIE
Scale in Miles
UNIVERSITY DR

GRIFFIN RD

DANIA BEACH

STIRLING RD
I95

SES
SEMINOLE
NATION
SHERIDAN ST
SR7

TAFT ST HOLLYWOOD

JOHNSON ST

HOLLYWOOD BLVD

PEMBROKE
PINES
PEMBROKE RD
PEMBROKE
Prepared by: PARK
MIRAMAR HALLANDALE BEACH BLVD
Transportation Planning Division
MIRAMAR PKY
Department of Planning & Environmental HALLANDALE
Protection
COUNTY LINE RD
Broward County, Florida
(LCK - SR7_cities.apr)

Shifting Suburbs: Reinventing Infrastructure for Compact Development  | 25

Municipalities in the State Road 7 Collaborative reductions in others, to facilitate urban-scale redevelopment and accommodate
have created master plans to guide future premium transit (such as fixed rail or BRT). Pedestrian amenities, such as high-visibility
development. (State Road 7 Collaborative) crosswalks and medians to serve as crossing oases, will also be built. Necessary sewer
infrastructure is being constructed.

Local transit service is currently provided throughout the corridor but is intended to
evolve over time. Express service overlays are being introduced through pilot programs
using bus queue jump lanes on SR-7. Eventually, a premium transit system in dedicated
lanes will be established using bus or fixed-rail transit.

Lauderdale Lakes has replaced a number of obsolete bus shelters with 12 new open-
Improvements to bus stops along the corridor offer air shelters that feature real-time arrival message displays, with another ten planned.
ample seating and shade. These photos show A weed-filled, virtually abandoned corridor along a major regional drainage canal has
conditions before and after improvements. (State been transformed into a two-mile-long (3.2 km) nonvehicular path that connects city
Road 7 Collaborative) government facilities, commercial centers, schools, and recreational facilities.

26  |  Shifting Suburbs: Reinventing Infrastructure for Compact Development

 Top and bottom: Renderings show hoped-for
SR-7 corridor investments during the last ten years have totaled more than $165
improvements and development in Lauderdale
million, including $137 million in right-of-way acquisition and construction, $10 million Lakes, one of the State Road 7 Collaborative
in transit enhancements, $10 million in sewer line infrastructure updates, and $4 million communities. Below: Charrettes and public
in bus shelter construction. Funding has been provided by the U.S. Department of meetings were essential to formulating plans for
Transportation, the state, regional planning bodies, and the John D. and Catherine the transformation of State Road 7. (State Road 7
T. MacArthur Foundation, as well as through local in-kind services and funding from Collaborative)
local governments. The Florida Department of Transportation has made a financial
commitment to supporting the state road, and the Broward County Metropolitan
Planning Organization has committed to finding funds to build transit once the feasibility
of light rail or BRT has been determined.

Redevelopment of the land along SR-7 has proved challenging, despite the adoption
of new land use and zoning standards. Challenges include land assembly and the
need to extend sewer infrastructure to places where it does not currently exist, with the
economic downturn stalling development of the Lauderdale Lakes Town Center and
other sites along the corridor. The work of reinventing SR-7 continues.

Shifting Suburbs: Reinventing Infrastructure for Compact Development  | 27

 White Flint/Rockville Pike, Montgomery
County, Maryland
Rockville Pike in Montgomery Lessons from White Flint/Rockville Pike
County is relying heavily ■■ Savvy property owners who recognize that transportation improvements allow
on the private sector for for additional density and create value may be willing to tax themselves to pay
for those investments.
its transformation. Major
property owners in the ■■ The private sector can help plan and fund infrastructure improvements that
cash-strapped governments may be unable to do on their own.
automobile-dominated
corridor have come together
to support a new sector R ockville Pike, a six-lane major arterial, runs through the northern suburbs
of Washington, D.C., from the intensively developed inner-ring suburbs of
Montgomery County into the less developed but still populous Frederick County.
plan, rally the public behind Much of Rockville Pike is paralleled underground by the heavy-rail Red Line, run by the
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, although surface uses remain squarely
it, and fund the needed auto dominated.
infrastructure investments. In Bethesda, Rockville Pike is home to the 43-acre (17.4 ha) White Flint Mall and is one
of the highest income-generating areas in the county and state. However, the corridor
is frequently congested, and the heavy traffic and orientation to drivers create safety
A rendering shows the future of the Pike and and access issues for pedestrians, with surface parking lots standing between the road
Rose project, one of several walkable, mixed- and buildings. Many Rockville Pike users are visitors to regional shopping centers and
use projects being built at White Flint. (Federal workers in office buildings, but pedestrian circulation is limited, and the few transit-
Realty Investment Trust)

28  |  Shifting Suburbs: Reinventing Infrastructure for Compact Development

oriented nodes around Red Line stations are not well connected to one another and The phasing plan for the Pike and Rose project
other area land uses. shows how density will be incrementally added by
increasing height and constructing new streets.
In recent years, developers in the corridor have been working with one another and (Federal Realty Investment Trust)

other stakeholders to transform the area’s land use and transportation patterns. The
White Flint Partnership, formed in 2008 as a collaboration of the area’s six major real
estate players, has been working with local planning agencies and a transportation
consultant to develop, implement, and fund a new vision for the area. The goal that has
emerged from this work is a denser, mixed-use, walkable, and transit-friendly corridor.

The White Flint Sector Plan, completed in April 2010, lays out land uses in 430 acres
(174 ha) along Rockville Pike. The current properties in the White Flint Sector are mostly
zoned for commercial uses, and many acres are occupied by surface parking lots. The
vision calls for almost 10,000 new housing units along this corridor and greater density
of both residences and retail around the Metro station, in order to form an identifiable
center. An extensive community outreach program—including a sustained social
network–based outreach effort—helped gain public buy-in for the additional density and
other recommendations.

The area’s transportation infrastructure will also be transformed. The sector plan
establishes a connection among land uses, transit, motorists, bicyclists, and
pedestrians. It aims to transform Rockville Pike from a traffic-clogged roadway into a
21st-century boulevard with wide sidewalks, streetfront retail, dedicated bike lanes,
and a center lane dedicated to BRT. An expanded, pedestrian-friendly road network
with 16 new roads will put the entire area within a ten-minute walk of some form of
public transportation. The more fine-grained street grid will help diffuse congestion and
support a more mixed-use and less auto-dependent area.

Francine Waters, managing director of transportation/smart growth enterprises for

Lerner Enterprises and executive director of the White Flint Partnership, described the
role that property owners will play in funding the improvements. Because public funds
for such projects are limited, landowners agreed to the creation of a special property
tax district, as well as to pay for the construction of new roads and upgrades to existing
roads on their properties. Why? Waters explains: “With public transportation, with the
new network of streets, with the greater accessibility and more mobility, the value of the
property rises incredibly. The members of the White Flint Partnership recognized that
they are creating value.”

Shifting Suburbs: Reinventing Infrastructure for Compact Development  | 29

 The White Flint Development District was created to levy and collect an ad valorem
property tax of ten cents per $100 of assessed value. Begun in July 2011, the tax will
generate about $169 million for infrastructure improvements over 30 years. Developers
will pay for an additional $280 million of improvements and the county will invest $152
Above: This rendering from the White Flint Sector
million, for a total infrastructure development tab of approximately $601 million. The
Plan shows a transformed Rockville Pike, with
multimodal transportation improvements and new three-phase project is expected to create $1.3 billion in net new property revenue, $7
bus rapid transit. (Federal Realty Investment billion in new property tax revenue, and 39,000 new full-time jobs by 2030.
Trust) Below: The effort seeks to connect the
43-acre (17.4 ha) area with the larger region. (the More recently, the partnership has expanded its vision beyond the immediate White
White Flint Partnership) Flint area to nearby federal installations, which the partnership hopes to connect
with enhanced bus service. Extending the BRT to major federal health and science
campuses could create a science and health triangle, adding vibrancy and enhancing
potential revenues at White Flint.

30  |  Shifting Suburbs: Reinventing Infrastructure for Compact Development

Although plans are in place to fund and build transit-supportive infrastructure, This rendering shows a denser, more human-
significantly improved bus service in the corridor will depend on the success of a scale environment at White Flint. (Federal Realty
countywide effort to implement BRT service. This new system will also likely rely on Investment Trust)

property tax assessments for funding.

Reconstruction of Rockville Pike has not yet started, although new developments,
including Federal Realty’s Pike and Rose project, have recently broken ground. When
complete, Rockville Pike will be transformed from an auto-oriented corridor to one that
is better able to use its enviable location and connections to transit to grow in more
dense and pedestrian-friendly ways.

Shifting Suburbs: Reinventing Infrastructure for Compact Development  | 31

 West End, St. Louis Park, Minnesota
The West End development,
Lessons from the West End
located in the suburbs of ■■ A lack of abutting residential uses can make redevelopment efforts easier.
Minneapolis, is adding new
■■ Multiple jurisdictions make entitlements more difficult and time-consuming.
retail, office, and housing Ongoing collaboration is critical.
offerings and making major
infrastructure upgrades to
create a new mixed-use
L ocated four miles (6.4 km) west of downtown Minneapolis, the West End infill
development is set on a 32-acre (12.9 ha) site at the crux of two highways, Interstate
394 and State Highway 100. When Duke Realty began planning the development of
the property in 2004, it contained two office towers, two freestanding restaurants, six
lifestyle center for the region. low-rise office buildings, a data center, and another large, low-rise industrial structure. It
straddled two suburban cities, with 26 acres (10.5 ha) in St. Louis Park and the other six
acres (2.4 ha) in neighboring Golden Valley.

Duke Realty was interested in the site because, as Pat Mascia, senior vice president
of Minneapolis–Saint Paul operations for the company, put it, “We had great
The West End project, shown here in a site plan, demographics that would support a regional retail project,” as well as “the best office
repurposed a big-box site as a denser, more development site in the Twin Cities. Putting retail and office uses together on this site
multiuse district. (Duke Realty) created some great opportunities.”

32  |  Shifting Suburbs: Reinventing Infrastructure for Compact Development

The city of St. Louis Park sought to connect the site to the city and make it a much Parking garages were pushed underground or to
denser, genuine, lasting place, one that was both pedestrian and transit friendly. The the perimeter of the site to enhance the walkable
city of Golden Valley was also an important stakeholder. In 2008, Duke Realty broke aspects of the West End project. These images
ground on the project. show the site before and after redevelopment.
(Duke Realty)

Today, the West End is a compact, pedestrian-oriented mixed-use project with 14

acres (5.7 ha) of office space, a 350,000-square-foot ( 32,516 m2) lifestyle retail center
with 30,000 square feet (2,787 m2) of second-story office space, new entertainment
offerings, and improved connections to existing office and shopping destinations in the
area. A 119-unit apartment building broke ground in July 2012. Still to be built are 1.1
million square feet (102,193 m2) of office space in four towers.

Significant infrastructure investments—to provide improved connections between the

new retail and existing office space—were needed. New roads were built and others
widened; two parking structures were built to accommodate 1,500 stalls, and an
additional 4,400-stall parking structure will be constructed to accompany the new
office towers. Utility infrastructure (storm and sanitary sewers, water mains, gas lines,

The West End project offers retail and restaurant

activities throughout the day. (Duke Realty)

Shifting Suburbs: Reinventing Infrastructure for Compact Development  | 33

 Corridors of Opportunity Project
Promotes Vibrant Communities
Corridors of Opportunity (CoO) is an initiative
of the Metropolitan Council—the regional
planning agency that serves the seven-county
Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area—to
promote sustainable, vibrant, and healthy
communities by using the region’s emerging
transitway system as a development focus.

The initiative, which will run from 2011 to 2013,

is funded by about $20 million that comes in the
form of a Sustainable Communities Regional
Planning Grant from the U.S. Department
of Housing and Urban Development, as well
as loans and grants from Living Cities, a
collaborative of 22 of the nation’s largest
foundations and financial institutions.

A broad consortium of policy makers,

foundations, community organizations, and
local and regional leaders has joined the
Metropolitan Council in this effort, and CoO’s
21-member policy board meets regularly.
The initiative’s operating principles focus on
and electrical and communications conduits) was carefully coordinated to keep the
equity, economic competitiveness, clarity,
streetscape looking seamless. A below-ground water retention system, with drains to
sustainability, collaboration, and innovation. collect stormwater that is used to irrigate street trees and other plantings, won Duke
Susan Haigh, chair of the Metropolitan Realty accolades in 2010 for decreasing pollutant runoff and improving water quality.
Council and cochair of its CoO initiative,
stressed, “What we’re trying to do is align our A new road—West End Boulevard—was designed as a winding, pedestrian-friendly
promenade running through the property from east to west, with sidewalk cafés, street
planning efforts around our transit corridors
furniture, and green spaces. Kevin Teppen, senior landscape architect involved with the
to get a greater return on investment, to project, said, “It gives you that sense of place, that opportunity to stroll down the street,
attract more private capital, and to make sure to gather and mill around.” On the other hand, West 16th Street was not continued
that we see these corridors of opportunity beyond the West End—partly because the city of Golden Valley wanted to protect
benefiting people of all incomes.” nearby residential neighborhoods from traffic impacts—although other improvements
were made.
CoO is funding about two dozen discrete
projects along seven existing and planned The site is currently served by bus transit, and more intensive transit may be developed
in the future. The project is also bike friendly; the city of St. Louis Park required parking
transitways, all of which are at different
for 35 bicycles on the site, and designers accommodated that requirement by placing
stages of planning or development: Southwest
bike racks on sidewalks and in parking garages.
LRT, the Bottineau Corridor, the Gateway
Corridor, Cedar Avenue Bus Rapid Transit, The $400 million project received partial financing from the city of St. Louis Park, which
Central Corridor LRT, Hiawatha LRT, and created a tax increment financing district and contributed $21 million in TIF funds and
$5 million to rebuild an existing road.
Northstar Commuter Rail. The initiative is
seeking the following improvements: The site’s location in two cities complicated entitlement, with two separate planning and
approval processes required. Although Duke hoped to receive approvals quickly and
■■ Better integration of multiple planning
begin construction by 2007, the process ended up taking more than three years. “And
processes; that was fast for us,” said Kevin Locke, director of community development for the city
■■ Greater participation from historically of St. Louis Park. “We were able to fast-track this, partly because we didn’t have any
underrepresented groups; residential neighborhoods abutting it, which was a huge plus.”

34  |  Shifting Suburbs: Reinventing Infrastructure for Compact Development

 ■■ Greater alignment of planning and design
processes across jurisdictions; and
■■ Increased shared commitment at all levels
within participating organizations.
The delay wound up being a blessing for Duke. “We got our development agreement
For example, along the suburban Cedar
in December 2007 and started going vertical on the construction in April 2008,” said
Avenue BRT line, the initiative is striving to
Mascia. “The world fell off the cliff around October 2008.” If construction had begun
a year earlier, he noted, “we would have been opening the center right about the time spur development in a suburban context.
the economy tanked. Instead, we hit the market at a time when some retailers were That three-component effort is looking at
doing deals again.” Duke focused on attracting retail tenants that were new to the the existing market conditions at the station
Minneapolis–Saint Paul metro area, those that were opening their first or second store areas, identifying barriers that would prevent
in the region and that fit well within the area’s demographics. developers and lenders from working there,
Collaboration—among the developer, both cities, designers, and other stakeholders— and creating a BRT station analysis that will
was critical. “Over the course of many years of meeting weekly, we developed an become a guide for development activity
outstanding relationship, which finally made this project happen,” noted Mascia. With along the corridor. The analysis involves
over 80 percent of current retail and office space already leased, the project is proving creating a development typology, including
to be a successful first-ring suburb destination, and it has spurred other development in preferred land uses, development practices,
the area.
and funding opportunities tailored to BRT
projects, coupled with a local engagement
strategy along the corridor and efforts to
promote interjurisdictional and interagency
collaboration.

CoO is also working to accelerate the buildout

of the transit system by looking at financial
and political tools used by other transit
systems. A related effort is being led by
the Itasca Project, a business coalition that
is estimating the return on investment of
alternate transit buildout scenarios, including
an accelerated one.

Moreover, the CoO initiative is making a

significant investment—about $700,000—in
grassroots community organizing that aims
to build capacity in smaller organizations, to
enable them to effectively influence transit
and infrastructure decision making. And
a $4.3 million CoO loan pool has been set
up to help create and preserve affordable
single- and multifamily housing in corridor
neighborhoods.

The ultimate goal of the CoO initiative is to

develop a new regional model for transitway
development—as well as a regional plan
for sustainable development—by aligning
transit planning and engineering with land use
Above: Pedestrian-friendly features include street
furniture and programmed open space. (Duke Realty) planning, public and philanthropic investment,
affordable housing, workforce development,
Facing page: Using plazas and open space, events
and outdoor concerts contribute to the West End’s and economic development.
vibrancy. (Duke Realty)

Shifting Suburbs: Reinventing Infrastructure for Compact Development  | 35

 Richardson, Texas
Richardson has sustained Lessons from Richardson
a two-decade commitment ■■ A long-term commitment to TOD has helped Richardson leverage its transit
to transit-oriented develop­ asset. That work continues.

ment. Now home to signi­ ■■ Area residents—those living adjacent to a TOD project, as well as others—are
important champions of projects, if they see the benefits.
ficant TOD, Richardson is
continuing to think about
land use in the face of R ichardson, Texas, is a 28-square-mile (72.5 km2) suburban city, with about 102,500
residents and 120,000 jobs. Located ten miles (16.1 km) northeast of Dallas, the
city—with four Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) stations on the Orange Line and a fifth
potential future transit planned along the as-yet-unbuilt Cotton Belt Line—has made a long-term commitment
to working with DART on TOD.
expansion.
Richardson’s first major public/private partnership—developed by the Galatyn Park
Corporation, DART, and the city—is the 27.5-acre (11.1 ha) Galatyn Park urban center,
completed in 2002 to capitalize on the new Galatyn Park Station. The development
includes a performing arts center, a public plaza, 283 apartments, 6,813 square feet (633
m2) of retail and restaurant space, and a 336-room hotel. Although several office buildings
remain to be completed, the project has spurred additional development on adjacent land
of a new Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Texas corporate headquarters complex.

Also nearby, the Nortel campus has seen recent development with Ericsson Inc. having
more than doubled its footprint in 2011, and State Farm unveiling plans to expand into
one of the largest office blocks on the campus in August 2012. Two transit-oriented
The Arapaho Center Station includes a pedestrian
developments, Amli Galatyn Station and Eastside, opened within a half mile (0.8 km) of
underpass and appealing landscaping to connect
the transit center to surrounding mixed-use the Galatyn Park Station in 2008 and 2009, providing high-end, mixed-use amenities
development. (Dallas Area Rapid Transit) for residents and visitors.

36  |  Shifting Suburbs: Reinventing Infrastructure for Compact Development

 Far left: Richardson has four mixed-use
nodes along the DART Orange Line. Left: The
University of Texas at Dallas has developed a
land use concept for a new station along the
proposed Cotton Belt line. (Gary Slagel)

Following the success of Galatyn Park Station development, the area around
Richardson’s Arapaho Center Station was transformed into an adaptive use project with
14.8 acres (6.0 ha) of mixed-use development and a one-acre (0.4 ha) central park that
opened in 2007. The Spring Valley Station experienced the addition of the Brick Row
TOD project that opened in 2008, bringing 500 apartments, 80,000 square feet (7,432
m2) of retail and restaurants, 140 townhouses, 300 condominiums, and 11,000 square
feet (1,022 m2) of office space to the area around the station.

Near the fourth and final existing station, Bush Turnpike Station, a 220-acre (89 ha)
parcel is in the planning stages to become a new transit-oriented development led The Brick Row Urban Village takes advantage of
by the Parliament Group. This project will be part of a projected $1.5 billion mixed- its proximity to the Spring Valley DART station.
use development on 300 acres (121 ha) along George Bush Turnpike and US-75. To (Brick Row Urban Village)

Shifting Suburbs: Reinventing Infrastructure for Compact Development  | 37

 Dallas Area Rapid Transit:
TOD Innovator
Although it has been in existence only since
1983, Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) now
operates the longest light-rail transit (LRT)
system in the United States, with 77 miles
(124 km) of track and 58 stations serving
about 700 square miles (1,813 km2). Another
22 miles (35 km) and nine stations are
planned by 2019, including an extension to
Dallas–Fort Worth International Airport, as
well as more than 12,000 bus stops. From
the beginning, DART has viewed fostering
transit-oriented development around its
stations as part of its mission. DART’s
mission has included improving the quality
of life and stimulating development within its
service area; partnering with its 13 member
facilitate this development, the city recently initiated new TOD zoning around the station,
cities to encourage TOD is a natural outcome which will eventually connect with the Cotton Belt Line. A TIF district has been created
of that mission. Recent efforts have included to help fund the continuing development of the area, and the city has streamlined its
the development of a new rating system development approval process.
to evaluate TOD potential and establish
A 2000 ULI Advisory Services panel helped set the stage for TOD in Richardson. The
priorities.
study “was quite useful in terms of getting developers and landowners around the table
The Dallas metro area’s ambitious buildout to start talking about TOD and mixed-use development,” noted Gary Slagel, mayor
of the light-rail system has been funded of the city from 1991 to May 2011. Slagel is currently a member of DART’s board of
directors.
by a 1983 sales tax ballot measure. David
Leininger, chief financial officer at DART, Looking forward, Richardson is undertaking a station area master plan for a future
noted that future funding solutions will be Dallas Cotton Belt station, which is a joint project of the city of Richardson and the
more complex, consisting of a blend of value
capture; innovative financing, including
naming rights and sponsorships; fares; and
taxes. TOD—with its ability to enhance
revenues from many of those sources—is
an important part of DART’s overall financial
picture.

Diverse TOD projects have been completed

along DART’s lines; types include urban and
suburban infill, suburban greenfield, and
adaptive use projects. Estimates for 2009
indicated that over $8 billion of existing, in
progress, and planned TOD projects were
occurring along DART corridors. Almost $100
million of state and local tax revenue will be
generated over the construction period of
the DART buildout alone, with $4 billion in

38  |  Shifting Suburbs: Reinventing Infrastructure for Compact Development

University of Texas at Dallas. The proposed station would connect the university to regional economic activity over a five-year
Dallas–Fort Worth Airport and would serve as the focal point for a new walkable, mixed- period resulting in thousands of new jobs.
use development, including residential, retail, office, and research and development
facilities; an event center; a hotel; and public open spaces. Jack Wierzenski, director of economic
development for DART, explained, “Our
Because developing mixed-use projects near neighborhoods of single-family homes
philosophy for TOD is to work with the
is challenging, Richardson has worked to communicate regularly with residents and to
persuade them of transit-oriented development’s benefits. “Involve, involve, involve,” development community and with our
Slagel urged—and not just those who live adjacent to a new project, but the entire city. member cities, thinking outside the box.”
DART encourages development that is
Richardson’s early and aggressive pursuit of transit-oriented development has helped tailored to each specific site, relying on
the city emerge as a TOD model and success story. The city has realized significant
partnerships with member cities, other
increases in property values at each of the four completed DART stations.
government entities, and the private sector.

In August 2008, DART adopted a formal TOD

policy that calls for the agency to work in
close partnership with its member cities to
identify and implement TOD opportunities.
By promoting high-quality TOD, the agency
is creating revenue for DART, as well as
fostering environmentally sustainable, livable
communities focused on transit accessibility.
The 13 member cities are important
partners, since they have the financial
tools—like TIF, public improvement districts,
and grants—and the land use authority
needed to make infrastructure improvements
and to leverage TOD projects.

In 2009, DART took advantage of the

stagnant economy to step back, look at
the properties it owned, and create a new
TOD evaluation and prioritization system. It
developed four evaluation criteria—property
attributes, accessibility, third-party interest,
and market potential—that it broke down
into a point system. The 20 top-ranked
properties are now TOD priority areas
for the agency. Moving forward, DART is
reevaluating the rankings and adjusting
them as appropriate. “This has been very
successful,” Wierzenski commented, “not
only to get ourselves at DART focused, but
to get our member cities focused on where
DART is moving with their properties in the
Facing page, top: New development is located future.”
close to the DART rail line. Bottom: The Eisemann
Center at Galatyn Park has become a cultural
destination for the Dallas metro area. (Dallas
Area Rapid Transit)

Shifting Suburbs: Reinventing Infrastructure for Compact Development  | 39

 CityCentre, Houston, Texas
A mixed-use development Lessons from CityCentre
built on the site of a former ■■ Employers care about where their employees will shop, eat, and live. Office
mall, west Houston’s 37- tenants can be enticed by retail and restaurant offerings and residential
acre (15 ha) CityCentre opportunities.

project is a pedestrian- ■■ Effectively programmed and managed spaces are powerful attractors of
people—and dollars.
friendly, mixed-use
destination with a one- ■■ Retention of existing structured parking facilities saved tens of millions of dollars
in development costs.
acre (0.4 ha) heavily
programmed plaza at
its center. T he CityCentre project, which opened in spring 2010, was built on the site of an
obsolete mall in the suburbs of Houston, Texas. The project’s developer, Midway,
has transformed the site into a thriving destination, with office, residential, and
entertainment offerings. CityCentre’s complex includes 400,000 square feet (37,161
m2) of retail and entertainment space, 425,000 square feet (39,484 m2) of office space,
and 149,000 square feet (13,843 m2) of fitness facilities. The development has 700
residential units ranging from brownstones to lofts, a 255-room luxury hotel topped
The focal point of CityCentre is a meticulously with six condominiums, and a movie theater. With the recent addition of three office
designed and heavily programmed plaza.
buildings, the project is complete.
(CityCentre)

40  |  Shifting Suburbs: Reinventing Infrastructure for Compact Development

 CityCentre, located along a major highway in
Houston, replaced an outmoded mall with over
1 million square feet (93,000 m2) of mixed-use
development. (CityCentre)

Midway purchased the site because of its location at the demographic center of
Houston. Located at the intersection of Beltway 8 and I-10, 2 million people live within
a 20-minute drive of the property. Beltway 8 is the middle of three beltways that will
eventually ring the city. Because the city of Houston is so vast (with a total land area of
579 square miles [1,500 km2]), much suburban-style development is located within city
boundaries.

Three parking structures on the property, built for the old mall and retained in the
CityCentre project, can accommodate 11,500 daily visitors in approximately 4,000
spaces, and CityCentre is visible to nearly 500,000 cars per day. But developer Midway

Shifting Suburbs: Reinventing Infrastructure for Compact Development  | 41

 emphasized pedestrian circulation within the site. New, narrow streets built within the
project and on-street parking add to an urban, compact feel.

The mixed-use nature of the development can create powerful linkages, said Jonathan
Brinsden, chief operating officer and executive vice president of Midway. “From an
investment standpoint,” he noted, “there can be tremendous synergies and value
creation, if all the pieces truly add to each other. The risk is that if you get one piece
CityCentre features carefully crafted design wrong, it can affect the other pieces negatively.” He cited CityCentre’s appealing
elements and landscaping. (CityCentre) retail, fitness, entertainment, and restaurant offerings as powerful drivers of office and
residential rents; CityCentre brings in some of the highest office and residential rents in
the city, and its hotel has the third-highest revenue per available room in Houston.

Noting that “with the two big demographic bubbles, almost all of our residents are
either empty nesters or new young professionals,” Brinsden added that his team
focused on providing the types of amenities and experiences those households want,
like a fitness center and spa, cinema restaurant, and motor club.

Midway has also emphasized place management, including programming in the

plaza, which has been key to attracting shoppers and others night after night. “The
town square is still in our DNA; it’s part of who we are,” Brinsden noted. Events in
CityCentre’s plaza—more than 150 per year—help build relationships with workers,
residents, and visitors.

CityCentre’s compact form and pedestrian emphasis set it apart from other
developments in Houston. But ironically, the development was easy to entitle—
Houston’s lack of a zoning code means that planning and developing a site like
CityCentre are much simpler than they might be in other municipalities.

42  |  Shifting Suburbs: Reinventing Infrastructure for Compact Development

Contributors
All opinions, errors, and omissions are our own. The views expressed in this report do
not necessarily reflect those of individual ULI members.

The ULI Infrastructure Initiative gratefully acknowledges the contributions of the

following people:

Heather Alhadeff Jim Durrett Tad Leithead

Senior Transportation Planner Executive Director, Buckhead Community Chair
Perkins + Will Improvement District Atlanta Regional Commission
Atlanta, Georgia Chair, MARTA Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Ranadip Bose Jay Lindgren
Senior Project Manager Dan Eernissee Partner
SB Friedman & Company Economic Development Program Dorsey & Whitney LLP
Chicago, Illinois Manager Minneapolis, Minnesota
City of Shoreline
Jonathan Brinsden Shoreline, Washington Kevin Locke
Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Director, St. Louis Park Housing
Operating Officer Terry Foegler Authority
Midway Director of Strategic Initiatives Director, Community Development
Houston, Texas City of Dublin Department
Dublin, Ohio St. Louis Park, Minnesota
Colleen Carey
President Susan Haigh Donna Adams Mahaffey
The Cornerstone Group Chair Chief of External Affairs
Richfield, Minnesota Metropolitan Council Perimeter Community Improvement
Saint Paul, Minnesota Districts
Scott Condra Dunwoody, Georgia
Senior Vice President John Heagy
Jacoby Development Inc. Vice President Neil Marciniak
Atlanta, Georgia Hines Economic Development Specialist
Atlanta, Georgia City of Lakewood
Caren Dewar Lakewood, Colorado
Executive Director Jason Jordan
ULI Minnesota Director Pat Mascia
Minneapolis, Minnesota Center for Transportation Excellence Senior Vice President of Minneapolis–
Washington, D.C. Saint Paul Operations
Larry Dorr Duke Realty
Director of Finance and City Treasurer Bonnie Kollodge Minneapolis, Minnesota
City of Lakewood Public Relations Senior Manager
Lakewood, Colorado Metropolitan Council Helen McCarthy
Saint Paul, Minnesota Senior Communications Specialist
Jeff Dufresne Duke Realty
Executive Director David Leininger Minneapolis, Minnesota
ULI Atlanta Chief Financial Officer
Atlanta, Georgia Dallas Area Rapid Transit
Dallas, Texas

Shifting Suburbs: Reinventing Infrastructure for Compact Development  | 43

Kirk McKinley Gary Slagel Jack Wierzenski
Transportation Services Manager, Public President and CEO Director of Economic Development
Works CapitalSoft Inc. Dallas Area Rapid Transit
City of Shoreline Former Mayor of Richardson Dallas, Texas
Shoreline, Washington Richardson, Texas
Monte Wilson
Ceasar Mitchell Lynnette Slater Crandall Principal, Global Buildings
President Partner Jacobs
Atlanta City Council Dorsey & Whitney LLP Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia Minneapolis, Minnesota
David Winstead
Tom Murphy John Robert Smith Attorney
Joseph C. Canizaro/Klingbeil President and CEO, Reconnecting Ballard Spahr LLP
Family Chair America Washington, D.C.
Urban Land Institute Former Mayor, Meridian, Mississippi
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C.

Kathleen Osher Dave Stockert

Executive Director President and CEO
Transit Alliance Post Properties Inc.
Denver, Colorado Atlanta, Georgia

Patrick Phillips Jim Stokes

Chief Executive Officer Interim Executive Director
Urban Land Institute Livable Communities Coalition of Metro
Washington, D.C. Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia
Kenneth Powell
Managing Director, Public Finance Eric Swanson
Stone & Youngberg LLC Regional Planner/Policy Analyst
Richmond, Virginia South Florida Regional Planning Council
Hollywood, Florida
Dan Reuter
Land Use Division Chief Tavia Tan
Atlanta Regional Commission Communications Assistant
Atlanta, Georgia City of Shoreline
Shoreline, Washington
Paul Rice
Principal Planner Kevin Teppen
City of Lakewood Senior Landscape Architect
Lakewood, Colorado McCombs Frank Roos Associates
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Gary Rogers
Executive Director Francine Waters
Lauderdale Lakes Community Managing Director
Redevelopment Agency Lerner Enterprises
Lauderdale Lakes, Florida Rockville, Maryland

44  |  Shifting Suburbs: Reinventing Infrastructure for Compact Development

 Shifting Suburbs Reinventing Infrastructure
for Compact Development

A s American suburbs build in more compact ways—with higher-density development

clustered in nodes or along corridors, and with increasing options for getting
around without a car—reworking or rethinking infrastructure can be essential.

This report looks at infrastructure in the context of eight suburban redevelopment

projects. It examines the infrastructure that was built and how that infrastructure was
paid for, in an effort to illuminate the shape that infrastructure investments are taking
and the tools being used to fund and finance them. It also distills winning strategies
and stumbling blocks from these projects.

Winning strategies include

■■ Partnerships.
■■ A comprehensive approach to infrastructure and access.
■■ Programming and place management.
■■ Public space and plazas, trails and sidewalks.
■■ Proactive planning.
■■ Stakeholder engagement and buffering of existing neighborhoods.
■■ Riding the demographic wave.
■■ Many sources of funding.

Stumbling blocks include

■■ Trouble working across boundaries.
■■ Funding.
■■ Skill sets.
■■ Entitlements and zoning.
■■ Community resistance.

To ensure that today’s suburbs become more compact, sustainable places for the
future, stakeholders will need to work together to identify and implement solutions to
infrastructure coordination, funding, and financing challenges.

ISBN: 978-0-87420-254-0

1025 Thomas Jefferson Street, NW I S B N 978-0-87420-254-0

Suite 500 West 50995

Washington, DC 20007
Phone: 202-624-7000
Fax: 202-624-7140
www.uli.org 9 780874 202540