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Mixed use marks return to traditional development
By Sarah G. McC. Moïse
Staff Writer
Developments are popping up around the Lowcountry and the most desirable seem to be mixed use, which include combinations of housing, offices, retail and service businesses, and public and institutional uses. It differs from traditional zoning in that mutually supportive land uses are integrated, rather than separated or buffered from one another.
“The trend has been about rediscovering the lost traditions of urban design and city and town building, and discovering that they can be updated to become very vital and competitive in today’s marketplace,” says Stephen Filmanowicz, communications director for the Congress for the New Urbanism in Chicago. “Mixed-use walkable communities nurture street life. That’s a big part of what makes them so attractive.”
The Congress for the New Urbanism is a nonprofit organization that works with architects, developers, planners, and others involved in the creation of cities and towns. CNU teaches them how to include coherent regional planning, walkable neighborhoods, and attractive, accommodating civic spaces.
“It’s important to look at the historical conditions that produce sprawl,” Filmanowicz says. “One of the biggest was the widespread adoption of separate-use zoning across the country. Zoning reformers were reacting against the idea that the city was crowded and unhealthy, with people living too close to smoky factories.”
But the pendulum swung to the opposite direction and stayed there for a number of years. “You see houses in one pod, offices in an office park, schools in their own pods, stores along a strip or in a mall,” Filmanowicz points out. “This type of zoning makes it impossible to walk between activities, whereas traditional zoning encouraged it.”
Civitas developer Vince Graham has returned to that ideal in his design for the I’On neighborhood in Mount Pleasant. “We have sites for civic buildings, which could include a clubhouse, churches, schools, even a scout den hut.” Included in the plan for 762 homes is space for 30,000 square feet of commercial use.
Most public space has been given over as a place for automobiles and just for getting from one place to another. “For instance, you wouldn’t walk up and down Highway 17 to do your shopping,” says Graham. “But while Broad Street is also a busy street, you feel comfortable walking on it. There are things in the street that are friendly to pedestrians and bicycles. With I’On, we wanted to make a beautiful place that is comfortable to pedestrians.”
Matt Sloan, master developer for Daniel Island, says that his plan is to make a 24-hour downtown. “Having office space helps the vitality during the day, but then you have to create a reason to be here after five o’clock. If people live in close proximity to their work, it extends the street life.”
However, Sloan agrees that most people normally would not choose to live amongst density without reasons. “We’re trying to offer proximity to the water, parks, shopping, entertainment and nightlife. If you buy a condo in our downtown, you can walk to four restaurants, two dry cleaners, the supermarket, video store, two workout centers and a church. That proximity is a compelling reason to live in a more urban context.”
If there has been general criticism of mixed use, it is that it doesn’t always do what it is supposed to. The people who live in an area don’t always work there, resulting in an influx of people coming in and commuting to work every day. “We wanted to develop a sustainable community with a balance between living, working and playing,” says Sloan. “Every year more people live and work here. It’s about 10 percent now. It’s hard because we have such a small distribution of mixed use space. I wish the zoning code would have allowed more.”
Vince Graham says that the zoning laws are obsolete. “It took us several years to get approved. It would have been nice to have some multi-family housing and more commercial space. There are not enough rooftops planned for here to make it viable, so we have to draw business from Mathis Ferry Road and elsewhere.”
Kent Prause, senior planner for the Mount Pleasant Planning Department, admits that although his office encourages mixed uses, it’s still difficult to get approval. “Our comprehensive plan definitely supports infill projects, because it takes advantage of existing infrastructure. But the people who put money behind projects have to support it and the people who live there need to support it, especially if it requires re-zoning or impact assessment approval from elected officials.”
Sarah G. McC. Moïse covers real estate issues for the Business Journal. E-mail her at smoise@crbj.com.
SIDEBAR:
The new Prevecare building combines residential, commercial and office uses in the same building, by adding two rooftop town homes. Samuel M. Levin of the Levin Co. designed and built the Prevecare building and decided to make his family the “guinea pigs” by turning one of the apartments into his own residence. He says that having his office on the first floor of the complex combines form and function.
“It allows me to have more interaction with my children. Once they’re home from school, they can’t leave without passing by my office first. And it’s only a 35-second elevator commute to work.”
His wife, Lisa, says her drive time has been cut down 40%. “My kids can walk to school or ride their bikes to the pool. There is a grocery store on the island, and we have access to a dock and a club. Since we’re in the middle of a commercial district, everything is available by foot, like the vet, the bank and doctors.”
Sam Levin is currently working on plans for Seven Farms Square, a new complex on Daniel Island, which will have two floors and 65,000 square feet of office, with 12 residential lofts on the roof and 45 condominiums onsite.
“Not adding residential is really a lack of foresight. As land costs increase, residential is not a huge impact on your development. I’ve taken 60,000 square feet and am turning it into 80,000 square feet. If I wanted to add that much more office space, it would take a huge amount of parking. A developer can allocate more property to residential use and maximize a piece of real estate.”
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