:: aribra ::

by Yahya E. B. Henry

In case you have not noticed by now, I am truly an advocate of infill development. I think my fascination with this particular development was highlighted in this interview by CNN with Richard Florida. In the video he highlights how America bounced back after the Great Depression. The recovery was due in part to the flight from inner cities to the suburbs. That flight was a gift and a curse in that it took our best and brightest, along with their wealth, to the emerging suburbs. We effectively built our way out the Depression. Fast forward 75 years, here we are again at a crossroads where everyone from the President to economists are trying to figure out how we recover.

“[We] must get back into the game…[we'll] be condemned to high unemployment and sluggish growth, if the 35% of the economy real estate represents is not engaged.” Patrick Doherty, Washington Monthly [...]

by Yahya E. B. Henry

What is Infill Development?

Infill development is the process of developing vacant or under-used parcels within existing urban areas that are already largely developed.  Most communities have significant vacant land within city limits, which, for various reasons, has been passed over in the normal course of urbanization. A successful infill development program focuses on the completion of the existing community fabric.  It should focus on filling gaps in the neighborhood. Following are 5 reasons why this form of development is needed now.

1. Infill development contributes to a more compact form of development which is less consumptive of land and resources

Many developers are bypassing vacant urban area land for less expensive land beyond our cities edges.  Our current patterns of sprawling, low-density development at the urban fringe are consuming land (including farmlands, wetlands, and other resource lands)  at a much faster rate than population growth.

2. Infill development offers increased mobility for those who can’t or prefer not to drive. It is also an important part of the equation for minimizing traffic congestion. [...]

by Yahya E. B. Henry

East Point Plaza, Suffolk, VA (Streetview Rendering)

Rebuilding the fabric of inner cities has been a passion of mine since understanding the power of design and infill development-more specifically small-scale infill development. Small-scale infill can be classified as projects comprising less than 100 housing units and fewer that 10,000 square feet of commercial space. There a several definitions for this type development but it is my personal favorite. In the recent issue of Urban Land Magazine (City Futures, March/April 2010), Sam Newberg wrote an excellent piece entitled “Little Infill”. In his piece, he notes that 20 million attached housing units will be needed by 2025 and that some 3 million acres of greyfield sites will become available for redevelopment.

“They [small infill developments] are favorites of the planning and development industry for their compact urban scale, innovative design, and positive impact as catalysts for their neighbors.” Sam Newberg, Joe Urban, Inc.

I’ve long championed infill development, especially in smaller, less developed cities. Migration patterns have already begun shifting back to urban centers and smaller cities are positioned to take advantage of these trends. Small mixed-use infill projects do not fit most institutional investor business models. [...]

I have spoken on many occasions at Construction Law Musings and elsewhere about the risks and rewards for contractors found in sustainable construction. The rewards were fairly apparent. New markets, government incentives and the desires of owners to be “green” clearly point toward a need for contractors to get into the sustainable building game.

However, when I was first writing my Eeyore like thoughts most of the thoughts of all us construction attorneys were speculative. Whether because wholesale “green” construction was relatively new or because the court process was relatively slow, there were not many ways to test if our, shall we say “less optimistic,” predictions were going to come to pass.

For better or worse, several of the more dire predictions have come true. One major green construction debacle is the Destiny USA litigation. I cannot possibly set out all of the various issues as well as my friend and colleague Chris Cheatham does in his e-book about the project and its aftermath (.PDF). I highly recommend this e-book and the posts found at Chris’ Green Building Law Update blog for those of you interested in how the IRS, the USGBC and the Green Bonds Program interact to cause many a pitfall for construction and design professionals. [...]

“In James Howard Kunstler’s view, public spaces should be inspired centers of civic life and the physical manifestation of the common good. Instead, he argues, what we have in America is a nation of places not worth caring about.”

by Yahya E. B. Henry

“Commercial real estate is perhaps the most compelling investment opportunity in the United States right now, it is a $5 trillion business where one percent is minority.” Quinton Primo III of Capri Capital Partners L.L.C. “  ~ from Black Enterprise

Under Construction

The real estate industry, from a development perspective, is singly the least diverse industry on the planet.  You could also say one of the most vital. There are proportionally more minority accountants, doctors and lawyers than minority management-level commercial real estate professionals (less than 1% of 125,000 – source REAP).

I think part of that rests in the fact that it’s primarily controlled by a few white males. Literally, a small fraternity controls the majority of the world’s real estate. There is some historical significance to this as most property was held by white owners and has been passed down throughout generations. It largely remains that way today. One percent of real estate wealth is held by minorities. No wonder heavily populated urban areas suffer  steeper declines compared to more diverse cities. Women are also significantly underrepresented in commercial real estate as well. [...]

Green Building is all the rage. From the latest version of LEED, LEED 3.0, to discussions of “LEEDigation.”

By Tracy Taylor, Triple Pundit

Not only are smart growth communities good for your quality of life, they are good for your pocketbook as well.  According to Market Acceptance of Smart Growth, a recent report by the EPA, smart growth communities not only see stable market prices over time, but they often see greater retail appreciation than the average suburban development.  Given all the grim news surrounding the housing market over the past years, this is a welcome bit of news to add to the already long list of benefits of smart growth.

Smart growth – what was once the buzzword of the future has already changed the way our neighborhoods look, the way our communities interact, and the way our residents feel about the place they call home.  Characterized by the centralized parks and open spaces, walkable lunch spots and coffee shops, and businesses within [...]

If you haven’t seen Professor Albert Bartlett’s lecture ”Arithmetic, Population and Energy: Sustainability 101,” then you should. Seriously, here’s the link, go watch it. It’ll take a while, but you can come back.

OK, got the picture?

So, this is really what we are up against, ourselves. More specifically, it is our growth in terms of population numbers and resource depletion that threatens our continued existence. The planet itself will be fine. Sure, it may suffer to the point that causes our own extinction – or at least drastically reduces our population numbers – but the planet will rebound and “shake us off like a bad case of flees, a surface nuisance” to use George Carlin’s words.

[...]

After decades of declining productivity, the facility design and construction industry is beginning to benefit from powerful technologies that are poised to transform the way we design, construct and operate buildings. These technologies are commonly referred to as “BIM,” the acronym for Building Information Modeling. I personally prefer VDC, or Virtual Design and Construction, but let’s stick with BIM for the sake of conformity.  

The benefits of BIM are so compelling that they have ushered in whole new project delivery methods, relationships and workflows. Many A/E firms and construction companies have begun to embrace BIM, and are seeing substantial improvements in productivity, construction quality, budget and schedule control.

At the heart of BIM is 3D computer modeling, which greatly enhances the ability of project stakeholders to visualize, collaborate and coordinate their efforts toward the shared goal of completing a project efficiently. Construction prefabrication, decreased materials waste, and enhanced energy modeling applications all dovetail nicely with virtual models.  [...]