What We’re Reading — Commercial Real Estate

by Alison Berry

This week, we released out our RESTORE report, which focuses on mixed-use and commercial real estate in the rocky mountain west. Here’s a bit more about commercial real estate:

commercial real estate

  • Businesses in Memphis are benefiting from pedestrian and cycling paths
  • Check out these haunting photos of some of America’s Abandoned Shopping Malls
  • A new development from our Master Builder, Jed Selby

Our new program, New Mobility West helps create strong communities through transportation solutions. We’re also thinking about transportation: Continue reading

What We’re Reading — Walkable Cities

by Alison Berry

Summer starts this weekend! Here’s what we’ve been thinking about at Community Builders:

What’s the most walkable city in the U.S.? Find out here (It’s not NYC.)

Our upcoming report, RESTORE – Commercial and Mixed-Use Development Trends in the Rocky Mountain West talks a lot about matching mixed-use developments with the right location, based on community size, per-capita income, and more. … In the meantime, check out the U.S. Regions with the Most Potential to Build New Walkable Development.

Housing affordability: Many seek new homes near cities but are priced out.

More lanes = worse traffic. Here’s why.

not walkable Continue reading

What We’re Reading – Suburban Transit

by Alison Berry

We are reading about the reality of suburban transit: “The dense, transit-friendly suburbs of the Northeast are a fluke; most of America’s suburbs were built in the last 50 years, and most commuters who live in them drive themselves to work.” In the West, the answer may lie in ride-share, busses, and walking. What do you think?

Here are a few other eyecatchers from around the web this week:

Want to buy a green home? Looking for one just got easier.

What shapes the way a town looks? It’s all about timing.

We have said it before: people want more housing options in walkable neighborhoods. Here is what one city is doing to meet changing preferences.

A not-so-new form of alternative, non-motorized transportation, now for “the growing number of urban professionals who don’t want to drive to work.” (It’s not a bike.)

suburban transit Continue reading

What We’re Reading – Fire, Wal-Mart & the Earth at Night

by Alison Berry

Hey folks, here are some highlights from the World Wide Web this week:

Check out these cool bus stops.

Thinking about fire in the wildland-urban interface. There is a lot about how fire moves that we don’t understand. (watch the video!)

Wal-Mart’s biggest problem: You might be surprised. Interestingly, the only stores that are performing well for the mega-retailer are smaller, urban stores that can be accessed without a car.

Home buying and selling by generation. Take a look at the infographic.

Rent or Buy? The math is changing. Try the online calculator to see what’s right for you.

Have you seen those photos the Earth at night from space? It turns out they can tell us a lot about economic activity. Read the story.

Shenyang and Sujiatun, China at Night (NASA, International Space Station, 10/09/12)

(Cross posted from Community Builders)

Webinar Recap: Missoula’s Old Sawmill District

by Alison Berry

We had a great webinar last week with Ed and Leslie Wetherbee, discussing their exciting project in the Old Sawmill District at the heart of Missoula. Here is a re-cap:

Ed and Leslie are working to restore the sight of an old sawmill. It used to look like this:

Historic slide

Here is an aerial view of the site, you can see piles of logs stacked top of the photo, and the rail line cutting diagonally through the site: Continue reading

What We’re Reading: The Gas Tax, Old Buildings & the Future of Sidewalks

by Alison Berry

Happy Friday, All! It’s been a busy week at Community Builders. Here are a few standouts from the Internet for some weekend reading:

Old Gas Pumps

On the gas tax: “We can’t expect people to travel like it’s 2014 if they pay for travel like it’s 1927.”

Millenials: are they “All look, no leap“?

Five things you need to know about the latest mortgage applications

Do historic buildings add value? An Economic Defense of Old Buildings

The Future of Sidewalks is not So Concrete – some cities are experimenting with alternative materials, with various levels of success. Continue reading

Missoula’s Old Sawmill District: Q&A with the Wetherbees

sawmillby Alison Berry

We had a great webinar yesterday with Ed & Leslie Wetherbee, discussing their exciting revitalization project in Missoula’s Old Sawmill District. Questions from the audience prompted additional information from the Wetherbees. Here is a re-cap:

Q: Did you use a form-based code to implement your vision?

A: No. The city has building codes that we will have to meet. Our concept is for higher-density urban living, so that is driving where we are going. The city was actually very interested in our plan, in fact, they even wanted more density that what we have proposed. In addition, from an economic standpoint, the costs of getting to where we are now creates a scenario where we need to have higher-density to cover our costs.

Q: Do you have any plans for affordable housing for the residential units?

A: We don’t have plans for this. There is a great deal of affordable housing available nearby, across the river. We don’t have plans to incorporate that.

Q: What is the University of Montana’s role in the development? Do you have a programmatic realationship with the university? Are they a partner or a stakeholder?

A: There is no formal relationship. The extended learning program is acting as an advisor to us, and there is a lot of interest from the alumni office. We are working closely, we meet often, and as the project unfolds, we will see where that relationship can go. We would like to see a very close relationship, but there are boundaries that will need to be observed. Continue reading