Residents
split over University Village project
Ann Arbor News - 6 Mar 2008
... ANN ARBOR, MI - Backers of the proposed University Village
project say it will provide quality student housing while injecting
a shot in the arm to Ann Arbor's struggling South University Avenue
business district.
Detractors say the two connected 15- and 20-story
buildings proposed for the project are part of a bad trend that
one man described as the "Manhattanism" of the city's
skyline ...
Borough:
Zoning proposal too dense
Design guideline papers suggest
limits, mandates
Centre Daily Times - 6 Mar 2008
... STATE COLLEGE, PA — The proposed zoning ordinance for
the West End is thick, weighing in at 45 pages.
Proposed design guidelines for the area are more
heavy: Eighty-seven pages of suggestions — including some
would-be mandates — for how buildings in the West College
Avenue neighborhood should look.
Now, more than six months after the borough agreed
to pay an outside contractor $196,000 to develop the documents,
some municipal leaders said the proposals are too complicated,
too dense and too limiting to drive needed redevelopment ...
Council
has issues with new housing
Diamondback - 6 Mar 2008
... COLLEGE PARK, MD - The exterior design of a new Route 1 housing
complex slated to go up next to the College Park Car Wash has
sparked the latest debate over the long-embattled project.
Tuesday, developer Mukesh Majmudar and two of
his architects showed renderings of the proposed StarView Plaza,
an angular glass-covered five-story building set close to the
road and equipped with a three-level underground parking garage.
Majmudar said the unique design is intended to
be environmentally friendly, but his plans are clashing with some
tastes on the College Park City Council and a city ordinance that
mandates extensive use of brick in Route 1 facades ...
"There's a mandate for 75 percent brick.
But that mandate was to create a colonial, Georgian-style building
that would mesh with the university's architecture," architect
Jon Grant said. "But this building has to be somewhat iconic,
and brick isn't exactly a green material." ...
A
college town builds a year-round downtown
CityPulse - 27 Jun 2007
... EAST LANSING, MI - To the delight of Singh and other city
officials, the City Center’s condos filled
up before the doors opened, bringing a mix of students, professionals
and empty-nesters to the heart of downtown for the first time.
“In the condo developments, we’re
seeing a good mix,” Singh said. “In the City Center,
out of 39, only three went to students.” Meanwhile, the
more affordable Stonehouse I filled up with undergrads and grad
students.
The ongoing buildup is quickly changing the face
of a East Lansing’s downtown. The small-town model —
motley, ragged-toothed rows of retail storefronts interrupted
by asphalt parking lots — is slowly giving way to neatly
fitted, postmodern slabs of brick, frosted (like cupcakes) with
layers of white masonry and peaks that mirror the university buildings
across Grand River ...
Downtown
growing up
As Columbia aims to redevelop downtown by going more
vertical, some residents and property owners are feeling squeezed
out
Missourian - 3 Mar 2007
... COLUMBIA, MO - The apartment building where Harrison lives
is among dozens of properties scattered across the southern half
of downtown that are in the cross hairs, targeted by plans for
the biggest redevelopment project the community has ever undertaken.
It’s a plan that would drastically change Columbia’s
central business district over the next 10 to 15 years, replacing
aging homes and apartments, sprawling parking
lots and nondescript commercial buildings with developments intended
to create a more vibrant and inviting atmosphere.
The plan is the product of brainstorming by Sasaki
Associates, a Boston-based urban design and planning firm hired
by the city and MU to come up with a strategy for how the two
can work together to revitalize downtown and encourage private
developers to make better use of limited space.
If the dream comes true, downtown would grow
vertically, with high-density, mixed-use developments three to
five stories tall, Sasaki representative Fred Merrill said ...
City
changes with its neighborhoods
Capital Times - 30 Dec 2006
...MADISON, WI - As Madison grew and changed over the last year,
those closest to the action often saw it unfold most dramatically
in the form of one new building or one transformed street in their
neighborhood.
In an informal survey, neighborhood association
presidents, business leaders and other city residents stressed
the changes outside their doorsteps and talked about the tensions
that come with another year of motion.
For a businesswoman whose company is developing
University Square into one of Madison's largest centers of retail,
office and residential space, the pattern of growth Susan Springman
has seen during last year must continue upward.
"There has been so much growth around Madison
that Madison can no longer grow out. It must grow up," ...
Officials
discuss redevelopment costs in College Park
Gazette - 22 Sep 2006
...COLLEGE PARK, MD - College Park officials said the long-awaited
downtown redevelopment project, which includes a new City Hall,
condominiums and a parking garage would not raise taxes for city
residents.
City lawyers and Mayor Stephen Brayman discussed
the costs of the city’s downtown redevelopment with residents
Sept. 21, revealing that the downtown parking garage — the
centerpiece of the project — would cost about $7.3 million.
The city hired Alabama-based Capstone Development Corporation
to head all the projects.
If all goes according to the city’s plan,
College Park will make $67 million after spending about $46 million
on the condo project.
Earlier this year, the city unveiled plans to
move City Hall to Calvert Road, leaving the current City Hall
site open for new condominiums. The condos will be nine stories,
the city’s development outline said, which some residents
felt would not mesh with the character of the downtown...
Steps
taken to rezone South U
Ordinance change would double
allowable building height limits
News - 19 Sep 2006
...ANN ARBOR, MI - In a move that is expected to change the way
the campus business district looks, the Ann Arbor City Council
on Monday took the first step toward rezoning the South University
Avenue area.
The zoning ordinance change, which will be up
for a second and final vote next month, would double the allowable
building height limits in that area from the current three stories.
Last night's first reading was approved by a unanimous vote...
"I see more housing options that will be
available along the street front,'' Easthope said. "Right
now, it is just retail and restaurant dominating.''
Carlberg said developers don't want to bring
in just student housing, but are looking for a mix of students
and young professionals in that area...
College-Town
Real Estate: The Next Big Niche?
New York Times - 19 Aug 2006
...USA - For some unhappy neighbors, this may conjure up images
of ceaseless parties and beer cans galore. But some investors
see something more propitious: a steady stream of revenue, for
starters, and growth potential for years
to come.
“The student housing market is a good niche
opportunity today,” said Kenneth T. Rosen, chairman of the
Rosen Consulting Group, a real estate and economics research company
in Berkeley, Calif. “The demographics are excellent, and
the demand is great.”...
Downtown
makes room for condos
Plainsmen - 13 Jul 2006
...AUBURN, AL - Construction is a constant on the Auburn University
campus. When one project ends, another begins.
Now the hammering has spread just outside of
campus onto tradition-rich downtown College Street.
Family-owned businesses are being bought by chain
stores and restaurants, and a massive construction project is
nearing its end.
Right in the heart of downtown, a five-story
band of condos is rising above all the edifices on the strip.
Soon, some Auburn fans will be able to take in the wild celebrations
at Toomer’s Corner from the balconies of their $300,000
plus downtown College Street condominiums...
Blowing
Up the West Side
An intense redevelopment in the Cultural District
could take the urban village concept up several stories.
Weekly - 9 Feb 2006
...FORT WORTH, TX - What Garvey and his partner Phillip Poole
want to “do right” is a possible $200 million, 15-acre
remake of the heart of the near West Side. The developers hope
to turn the land on the west and north sides of the University-Camp
Bowie-Seventh Street intersection into something almost unheard-of
in Fort Worth — not only a destination for tourists, but
also a place where locals can live, work, eat out, and visit clubs
and theaters, all without getting in their cars. And (wonders
never cease) a place that folks from other hotels and other parts
of town can reach via public transportation — a light-rail
line connecting the Cultural District and downtown. An eight-story
hotel, apartments, condos, office buildings, and retail development
are all part of the plan, which would greatly increase the intensity
of use of the area...
Greg Upp, vice president of the health science
center, thinks the development might actually reduce traffic.
“We have 3,000 students and staff here, and there is a need
for housing and dining and entertainment,” Upp said. “When
we look at the growth we want to do, keeping traffic down is something
we look at carefully. If we have our students and staff living
close by and not getting in their cars every time they want to
get lunch or go shopping, the traffic can be reduced.”...
N.Y.U.
plans: What a concept
The Villager - 23 Dec 2005
...GREENWICH VILLAGE, NY - After three decades that have seen
New York University’s undergraduate student body double
from 9,000 to 18,000 and the number of its dormitories and facilities
in the Village area increase exponentially, it seems that N.Y.U.
may finally have recognized the need to manage its growth in a
rational manner.
The most important indication that this change
of mind may have occurred is the hiring of Sharon Greenberger
for the new position of vice president of campus planning and
real estate. Greenberger is highly qualified, having most recently
worked on major planning and development issues with Deputy Mayor
Dan Doctoroff as his chief of staff...
Campus
planning director brings extensive experience
The Villager - 23 Dec 2005
...GREENWICH VILLAGE, NY - With the hiring of Sharon Greenberger
as its inaugural director of real estate and campus planning,
New York University says it is taking a fresh approach to the
use of its existing facilities and development of new ones.
Greenberger has extensive experience in planning
and development. She most recently served as chief of staff to
Dan Doctoroff, deputy mayor for economic development and rebuilding,
in which capacity she managed the city’s economic and planning
agencies and developed citywide policies and programs...
Two
mixed-use high-rises in works
Downtown Athens
Banner Herald - 22 Dec 2005
...ATHENS, GA - Downtown Athens continues
to expand as new high-rise buildings are planned for College Avenue
and Willow Street, both in areas outside the traditional boundaries
of the downtown area.
Meanwhile, efforts to craft rules guiding future
development downtown continue, as a consulting company has proposed
temporary rules that could be imposed as soon as February...
Gameday
Centers
Luxury condominiums for college sports buffs
Gameday Centers Southeastern, LLC partners with universities and
cities to develop luxury sports condominiums within close proximity
to college athletic facilities and downtown areas.
Aggieland Gameday Center - College
Station, TX
Auburn Gameday Center - Auburn,
AL
Bama Gameday Center - Tuscaloosa,
AL
Georgia Gameday Center - Athens,
GA
Kentucky Gameday Center - Lexington,
KY
Tallahassee Gameday Center - Tallahassee,
FL
Tennessee Gameday Center - Knoxville,
TN
West
Campus is on the rise
A year after plan raised height limits, apartment
projects are springing up
American-Statesman - 2 Oct 2005
...AUSTIN, TX - One year after Austin officials approved
a plan to encourage high-rise and high-density development just
west of the University of Texas campus, well-worn bungalows and
low-slung apartment buildings still dominate the eclectic neighborhood.
But signs of change are everywhere in the area
known as West Campus, from the dusty 18-wheelers lugging building
materials through the narrow, car-lined streets to the gaping
holes in the landscape where run-down student dwellings once stood
and sleek, upscale apartments are being built.
Developers already have plans for 12 projects
with a total of more than 1,000 apartments or condominiums, and
several are under construction. Developers have more projects
on the drawing board, and some land owners are considering starting
projects of their own or marketing their land...
Phoenix's
monumental task
City bets on bond's passage, believes new ASU will
thrive
The Arizona Republic - 2 Oct 2005
...PHOENIX, AZ - The next 12 months will be a make-it-or-break-it
year in the ambitious plan to move a large segment of Arizona
State University to downtown Phoenix.
The hope is that the new campus will be the cornerstone
of a larger downtown renaissance, one that will bring new businesses,
entertainment, jobs and full-time residents to the city's core.
But between now and next fall, when the first
3,000 students start taking classes in Copper Square, there are
several significant hurdles to overcome if the project is to succeed.
They include passing a city bond proposal, designing and building
student housing, and altering the city zoning and development
rules that will shape how the campus looks...
Corner
apartment buildings on tap
Daily Progress - 5 Sep 2005
...CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - The skyline around the Corner district
is going to rise over the next couple of years as developers scramble
to build high-density apartment buildings permitted under relatively
new zoning laws...
Proposal
lifts limits on height of buildings
Centre Daily Times - 9 Aug 2005
...STATE COLLEGE, PA- Buildings taller than anything State College
has seen could dot the downtown landscape, thanks to an expanded
economic-redevelopment plan presented to Borough
Council on Monday night.
The early proposal, which would allow 145-foot
buildings only in "signature development projects,"
would apply to almost all of the downtown except South Allen Street
and much of College Avenue. A condominium tower proposed last
week for the northwest corner of South Fraser Street and West
Beaver Avenue would stand about 140 feet.
Current height restrictions in the downtown generally
range from 45 to 65 feet, although the borough made an exception
for its 80-foot Beaver Avenue parking garage.
"We're not out in the townships, where you
spread out into the cornfield," Councilman Jim Meyer said.
He said signature development projects, such as the condos and
adjacent 10-screen cinema proposed for Fraser, should be allowed
to stand at least 145 feet. "To get that investment back,
(developers) have got to go higher."..
PLANetizen - 8 Apr 2005
High-Rise
Living Is The Future For University Students
In Madison, WI, market pressure
is converting former "student ghettos" back to owner-occupied
housing.
PLANetizen - 24 Feb 2005
University
and City Butt Heads On Density
Tallahassee, FL, envisions a denser, more walkable
future near Florida State University than the university's administration.
PLANetizen - 25 Jan 2005
Seattle's
University District Looks At A Taller, Denser Future
Vibrant mixed neighborhood, or big box condo complexes
- residents wait to see what's in store.
PLANetizen - 16 Jan 2005
Athens,
GA, Grows Up
More high rise construction is planned in the heart
of a quintessential college town.
PLANetizen - 5 Aug 2004
University
and City Join Forces
Arizona State University will work with the City of
Tempe to develop nearly 100 acres of land around its campus.
PLANetizen - 17 Jan 2004
University
Area Dance Of Development
The University of Texas and its neighbors agree on
a plan that has something for everyone.
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