Sustainable Land Development Today - July/August 2008 - (Page 20) desire to live in a low-maintenance, active-adult neighborhood. Most of these buyers will trade in their single-family, car-dependent lifestyle for cluster homes, patio homes, paired villas, mansion homes, condominiums and a wellness center. The focal point for this Walkable Village will be the proposed community center which will include an indoor pool, spa, workout studio, library, lounge, chapel, events center, post office and a country store. The center will overlook a community pool, outdoor spa, manmade lake, pavilion and recirculating streams. Paved trails will radiate from all clusters like spokes on a wheel to the central clubhouse, providing miles of pedestrian systems separated from internal roads. It is important to note that these higher density walkable neighborhoods must be designed carefully by a team of architects, planners, landscape architects and engineers to create a village that maximizes privacy between units, provides private courtyard spaces, reduces stormwater runoff, and considers other sustainable features as encouraged by Sustainable Land Development International. Inasmuch as the dynamics of buyer profiles have changed dramatically, a mixed-use village may appeal to diverse lifestyles. The compact Walkable Village design can reduce development costs per unit, provide pedestrian access to neighborhood shops and provide affordable low maintenance homes, condos, and apartments in a neighborhood that reduces the expensive auto-dependent lifestyle. A mix of price ranges and unit types can increase absorption, create more value and increase the bottom line for developers who will respond to the changes that are shaping how we will live in the next 25 years. It is interesting to note, based on some of the factors discussed, that a large percentage of residential real estate developed between now and 2025 may be modeled after the compact villages that our forefathers built in the late 1700’s. Remember, it’s not how dense you make it, it’s how you make it dense. SLDT About the author: Dave Clinger is president of David A Clinger and Associates, which specializes in innovative, high density singlefamily, multi-family, and mixed-use land plans. He can be reached at 303-526-9126 or davidclinger@dclinger.com. Amenity “Wow” Area at Entry to Hometown 20 July/August 2008 Sustainable Land Development Today
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.