The Ground Floor

Going Green: LA Prepping to be Clean Tech Leader

This post was written for The Ground Floor by Robert Krueger, communications associate at the Urban Land Institute.

What are the challenges and opportunities–physical, social and economic–involved in redeveloping existing industrial infrastructure so that it is can attract clean technology industries in the 21st century? That is exactly the question posed to an upcoming ULI Advisory Services panel that will visit Los Angeles in May. The initiative is part of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and L.A.’s Community Redevelopment Agency’s (CRA/LA) long term vision for creating the world’s top clean technology manufacturing corridor. 

 “Los Angeles will be the word’s clean technology capital,” said Villaraigosa in a 2008 statement. “This is where innovators will create jobs of a new economy for the 21st century.” 

 But the task is easier said than done. This old industrial site has a long controversial history. In 1984, efforts from the State of California to build a prison on the site were derailed by local organizing and battles by lobbyists. In 2008, CRA/LA purchased the site from the state, and has spent the past two years preparing it for redevelopment.

Once completed, the Clean Tech Corridor will be made up of three anchors, all forming a LEED community: The Clean Tech Manufacturing Center, the Cornfields Arroyo Seco neighborhood, as well as the Clean Tech Research Center. The idea is similar to Richard Florida’s creative class clustering, which gives some cities economic, professional, and cultural advantages of others when they are able to attract those professionals who work in similar industries. According to the City of Los Angeles, the Clean Tech Corridor will draw together the very best researchers, designers, and manufacturers who share a commitment to the development of innovative clean technology products and solutions to solving the climate crisis. 

When CRA/LA announced the initiative, it stated that “the CleanTech Manufacturing Center will accelerate Los Angeles’ development as the center for green manufacturing by attracting, incubating and promoting the growth of environmentally sustainable companies. This groundbreaking initiative will bring together existing companies and innovators in our city, along with companies from around the world seeking to locate in Los Angeles.”

According to the Los Angeles Times, there have been over 100 clean technology companies that have expressed interest in the site since the purchase of the site. These companies include electric car manufacturers, innovative recycling businesses, and an Italian rail manufacturer. The mayor’s team is also pushing for a laboratory cluster intended to attract companies to work with local universities. UCLA and USC already have plans for future research centers on the site.

What is the panel’s goal? The ten-person panel, consisting of land use and real estate experts within the membership of ULI, will provide recommendations concerning what strategies should be used to evolve the existing land while encouraging green collar jobs, while reusing the current building stock in order to accommodate a new clean tech workforce. The panel will focus on a two-square mile area of the four-mile long corridor that stretches from the Los Angeles State Historic Park (formerly the “Cornfields”) at its northern end to Adelante Eastside at the south. 

The panel will spend five days touring and evaluating the site and interviewing individual stakeholders before they offer their recommendations at a public presentation on May 21 at the Kyoto Grand Hotel. The panel is taking a unique approach by collecting suggestions and concerns from the general public. All submissions will be delivered to the panel prior to their arrival in Los Angeles. 

Parking and Neighborhoods Should be Focus of TOD Revamps

This post was written for the ground Floor by Jack Skelley who chairs the Communications Committee for ULI Los Angeles and represents Cuningham Group Architecture.

Like many cities, Los Angeles has seen transit-oriented developments (TODs) help revitalize its neighborhoods. However, not all TODs have been successful. Site limitations, insufficient planning, and lack of capital are all reasons why some rail stations have not stimulated the most desired investment in their communities.

That’s why ULI Los Angeles, a district council of the Urban Land Institute, recently convened a series of Technical Assistance Panels (TAPs) recommending solutions for four under-performing transit stops in Los Angeles County.  The TOD issues raised in Los Angeles--especially parking and connectivity--are echoed in other major cities including San Francisco and Washington, D.C.

In Los Angeles, the Slauson Blue Line light-rail station has seen very little development activity since its inception. The Slauson station suffers from:

• poor security;
• poor pedestrian connectivity to the surrounding neighborhood including an; above-grade platform that’s separated from street life;
• poor insulation from noxious industrial uses; and
• multiple jurisdictions that inhibit good planning.

“Like any development, a well-designed TOD does not exist on its own. It is part of a web of relationships with other uses in the surrounding community,” said Jonathan Watts, Slauson TAP chair and principal with Cuningham Group Architecture. “Our overall goals include improving these relationships, revitalizing the station neighborhoods with a greater mix of uses, pedestrian-oriented design standards, and improved pedestrian access.”

The ULI panel focused on getting people to the station and adding retail. This included adding a security kiosk, improved lighting, more visible crosswalks and sidewalks. But a key proposal may rankle those who support TODs purely to get people out of cars: The ULI TAP urges not less but more parking…particularly, a new parking structure connecting to the boarding platform. “Adding parking is not ‘good’ from a typical green perspective, but it will increase ridership,” said Watts.

Indeed, the parking issue reappears in TOD TAPs across the country. In the San Francisco Bay area, the problem has often been too much parking around TODs. ULI San Francisco Executive Director Kate White noted that Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) previously had a 100 percent parking replacement policy: New development around transit stations was required to replace every parking space it removed.

“You’re talking about hundreds of spaces. It can kill a development deal,” said White. “At the same time, a lot of people drive to BART stations and they need parking. We recommended changing the policy and fixing the problem with transit feeder systems.”

Other San Francisco panels have focused on pedestrian linkages. A Richmond, California TOD (with both BART and Amtrak service) is less than a mile from the city’s civic center, but only a small percentage of people working or visiting used public transportation because of poor walkability to and from the station.

“The walk was unclear, unpleasant, and traversed a major boulevard,” said White. “We recommended creating a clear pedestrian corridor, with widened sidewalks, better walk signs, and traffic ‘bulb-outs’ to calm the automobiles. It helped make the area less treacherous.”

ULI Washington conducted a far more extensive TAP in College Park, Maryland near Washington, D.C. The College Park Metrorail Station was not living up to its potential as a dynamic, mixed-use development, even though it was anchored by College Park Airport (the world’s oldest continuously operating airport), its adjacent Aviation Museum, and the nearby University of Maryland. The panel, chaired by David Kitchens of architecture firm Cooper Carry, Inc., envisioned an additional 600 units of residential, a 140-180-room hotel, 40,000 square feet of neighborhood-serving retail, public plazas and open space, and up to 300,000 square feet of office space--all providing desirable economic activity to the area.

Design solutions focused on:

• Sustainability: Recommending the entire development becomes certified through the LEED Neighborhood Development rating system, which combines smart-growth principles with green building.
• The Cultural Experience: Establishing visual connections to the Aviation Museum, and possibly naming the development Aviation Plaza, allowing the museum to be a “cultural catalyst” for increased interest and activity.
• Connectivity: Developing a viable street grid more supportive of pedestrians.
• Civic Space: Incorporating opportunities for children’s activities, outside dining, and places to people-watch.
• Parking: Creating easy access to parking, but “screening” it by other uses, such as the office space.

The recommendations of all these TAPs are in various stages of fulfillment. In the meantime, ULI Los Angeles will host a June 4 TOD Summit, evaluating progress on four separate TOD TAPs, including the Slauson Blue Line.

Student Design Competition Down to "Final Four"

Teams from Harvard University, the University of Maryland, College Park, North Carolina State University/University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the University of Pennsylvania have been selected as the finalists for the eighth annual ULI (Urban Land Institute) Gerald D. Hines Student Urban Design Competition. The finalist teams were charged with the design of a development site in the city of San Diego.

A $50,000 prize will be awarded to the winning team; and an additional $30,000 will be split among the remaining finalist teams.  Nearly 660 students comprising 132 teams from 48 universities in the U.S. and Canada applied to compete in the competition.

The interdisciplinary teams of students were challenged with creating a design and development proposal for a 73.5 acre site in East Village in downtown San Diego. East Village is one of eight distinct neighborhoods that comprise a downtown area that spans 1,450 acres bound by Interstate 5 and the San Diego Bay.  Students were challenged with developing a transformative vision in redeveloping the site to give East Village an identity and trigger broader redevelopment throughout the neighborhood.   The students’ schemes needed to incorporate the highest and best sustainable use, new economic development activities, and evidence of market support for their development activities – all fused with financial justification for their design decisions.

The competition is based on a hypothetical situation in which San Diego’s Centre City Development Corporation (CCDC), acting on behalf of the San Diego Redevelopment Agency, has issued a request for proposals (RFP) for the redevelopment of a 30-block area of East Village, and which assumes that the owners of individual parcels making up most of the 73.5 acres wish to combine their parcels into one site. The student teams were to respond as a multidisciplinary full service development team and include a development proposal with financials, a master land use plan, and an urban design scheme for the area.

The development schemes from the finalist teams are:

Harvard University:  “Celebration of Art” proposes an art-centric, multi-generational, European-scaled, sustainable development on the site of a former warehouse district. The project seeks to create over 1,500 jobs while attracting people to live, shop, and work in East Village.  The design is unified by a central park and subdivided by four art-themed sub districts, each with its own art-themed pocket park.  Team members include Macy Man-Sai Leung, Ignacio Correa, Fai Au, Xue Zhou, and Shane Campbell.  The team is advised by Richard Peiser and Brian Canin.

University of Maryland, College Park:  “East Village: The Garden District” strategically uses open space to create a greenway that connects Balboa Park with the San Diego Bay waterfront.  The plan’s overall aims are to refine the neighborhood’s identity through the promotion of the arts and education; increase the economic vitality of East Village to the downtown; transform Broadway into a major gateway to the San Diego Bay waterfront; create a memorable college town and affordable housing for the growing community; and promote stewardship by incorporating sustainable landscape urbanism.  Team members include Gregory Patrick Vernon, Lin Mao, Brian H. Brodeur, Kameron Aroom, and Timothy Martin Phillips.  The team is advised by Matthew Bell.

North Carolina State University; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (joint team):  “Family Oriented Development/F.O.D” hones in on the concept of the family as the central component necessary for catalytic redevelopment of East Village. Designed to accommodate the diverse needs of families of all sizes, ages, and economic levels, the sustainable design incorporates many critical family-friendly elements, such as community space, connectivity, public arts, and job incubation. Team members include Maria Papiez, Daria Khramtsova, Rebecca Myers, Jeff Pleshek, and Matt Tomasulo.  The team is advised by Robin Fran Abrams.

University of Pennsylvania:  “La Moda Fresca” aims to reposition East Village as a new center for fresh food and fresh ideas.  A central promenade, Eat Street, is the focal point of the food arts district.  Restaurants, food carts, test kitchens, public markets, and a culinary academy and museum reinforce and anchor the neighborhood’s identity. Team members include Lou Huang, Marie Park, Allen Penniman, Keyleigh Kern, and Brian Lee.  The team is advised by Michael Larice.

The finalist teams were chosen by a jury of renowned real estate development, architecture, urban planning, and design experts. In addition to Jury Chairman Lizanne Galbreath, other jury members are: Bert Gregory, FAIA, LEED AP, president and chief executive officer, Mithun, Seattle, Wash.; Helen Hatch, FAIA, principal and vice president, client relations, Thompson, Ventulett, Stainback & Associates, Inc., Atlanta; Jim Heid, founder, UrbanGreen, San Francisco; Jeffrey D. Kune, managing partner, DMG Capital Realty Advisors, West Palm Beach, Fla.; Neal Payton, AIA, LEED AP, senior principal, Torti Gallas & Partners, Los Angeles; Kevin Shanley, FASLA, chief executive officer, SWA Group, Houston; and John M. Walsh III, President, TIG Real Estate Services, Inc., Dallas, Tex. Local financial advisers to the jury were Evan E. Becker, managing director, RED Capital Group, San Diego and Tony Pauker, vice president of development, City Ventures, San Diego.

Six team entries were also selected for honorable mention. Four general honorable mentions were awarded to: Cornell University with “East Village Squares;” the University of Pennsylvania, with “FLEX;” the University of Texas at Austin with “Living Mosaic;” and a joint entry from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the University of Wisconsin-Madison with “NoMa.”  In addition, the jury recognized another two entries for specific honorable mentions. For demonstration of excellent sensitivity to the current economy, the jury commended the joint team of the Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University with “Re-Envisioning the Market” and for excellent clarity of graphics, the jury commended the University of Pennsylvania with “GreenWalk,” The entries from the four finalists and six honorable mentions can be found on the competition Web site (www.udcompetition.uli.org.)

In the final phase of the 2010 competition, which concludes April 8, the student finalist teams will have the opportunity to expand their original schemes and respond in more detail. On March 12, a member of each finalist team will visit San Diego, all expenses paid, and will have the opportunity to tour the site and refine their presentations. On April 8, finalist team members will assemble, at ULI’s expense, to present their programs to the competition jury members during a public forum in San Diego, which will also be attended by guests from the public and private sector.  A winner will be announced the same day. The competition is designed as an exercise; there is no intention that the students’ plans will be implemented as part of any development of the site.
 
For a PDF copy of this Finalist Stage press release, dated March 8, 2010, please click here.
 
For a PDF copy of the Competition Stage press release, dated January 20, 2010, please click here.

Top Four Markets for Real Estate

This post was written by Trisha Riggs, vice president of communications for ULI.

Washington, D.C. ranks as the top market in the United States for real estate investment and development, which, in the current economic environment, means it is the least troubled. So says the 2010 version of Emerging Trends in Real Estate®, released this week at ULI’s Annual Fall Meeting in San Francisco.

The widely anticipated annual industry overview, copublished by ULI and PricewaterhouseCoopers, was based this year on a record number of surveys and interviews with more than 900 developers, investors, brokers, analysts, researchers, appraisers, and academics. The overriding sentiment: No one is bullish on any particular market--even the perennial favorites such as Washington. Still, despite the faint enthusiasm, the report notes that "markets performing well before the crash will perform better coming out of it, while those lagging before will continue to lag."

The top four markets--all of which are gateway, 24-hour cities heavy on brain power with significant geographic barriers to entry:
• Washington: "Always the top market during recessions, buffered by the federal government;"
• San Francisco: "Highly volatile, but bounces back quickly;"
• Boston: "All those universities help buffer the market;" and
• New York: "Wall Street is down, but not out and always reinvents itself"

The number five market, Houston, is not a gateway city, but is an energy capital with a talented workforce, says the report.

Out of favor: manufacturing centers (mainly in the Midwest); secondary or tertiary cities requiring a flight connection to go overseas; formerly high-growth markets now suffering from overdevelopment and a bubble burst; and places where most development has been concentrated on the fringe.

Emerging Trends predicts that investment and development will start to pick up steam in a couple of years. In the meantime, those who are in a position to do so should buy or hold multifamily; buy hotels; buy distressed condos and second homes; buy land; buy or hold industrial; hold office; and apply a "triage" approach to retail.

Looking past the recession, "The future is about green development, infill, and transit-oriented development."

Brainstorming Session

This post was written for The Ground Floor by Bill Hudnut, former ULI Senior Resident Fellow, and founder of Bill Hudnut Consulting LLC in Chevy Chase, Maryland.

Not long ago, I received a plea from an official in my old city of Indianapolis that read like this: “The fundamental, existential challenge facing Indianapolis today is competition with suburbs in surrounding counties. In recent years, the city has been losing this battle as higher earners have been moving out and lower earners have been moving in. It seemed to me that you might have some insights into this problem with your experiences here, in a wealthy suburb in Bethesda and at the Urban Land Institute. I’d appreciate hearing your thoughts if you have a few minutes to spare some time.” 

Well…let’s do a little brainstorming for him. Here were some of the quick thoughts I shared with him, but he needs more answers, because this is a huge problem throughout urban America. The competition from “urbanizing” suburbs is exerting a centrifugal pull on the center again, even as it did after World War II, and many towns are experiencing disinvestment after the rebound of the late 1990s and early 2000s.  Of course, they are in a helluva bind now because of the meltdown in our economy, the loss of great value in properties, and in income tax, and so on. A very existential problem--to use my friend’s word.  I suggested to him: 

1. In Indianapolis, higher taxes than outside of the city may induce people to move out.
2. As gas prices go up, it may redound to the benefit of central cities because they will make people think twice about commuting time and distance.
3. There are three demographic cohorts that like the amenities of downtown: the young laptop crowd of singles; the couples; the graphic artists; craftspersons; worker-bee types; and empty nesters who have tired of suburban living and want to be closer to the cultural and entertainment facilities of downtown.  Exploit this market niche!
4. Why don’t you pull together a brainstorming group to discuss the issue with the mayor—leaders of neighborhood associations; mover and shaker types; and a bipartisan group of political types.  
5.  Utilize government incentives like tax abatement, grants, etc. to keep businesses in Indy, and make sure the burbs are included in a meeting you might convene to discuss the noncompete agreement of a few years ago.
6. Emphasize green space and place making.
7. Provide as much affordable housing and compact development in town as you can.
8. Keep city services running—trash pickup, street resurfacing, plowing, etc.  Your first job is to “mind the store.”
9. Prune the zoning. In my opinion, Indianapolis has too many strip malls, too much clutter, along many of its main thoroughfares.

Let’s see what we can come up with to help out my friend.  Thanks.

Costs Up for Construction Materials

Although the soaring price of gas and the credit crunch have been making headlines for their effect on cities, other economic forces are shaping urban development. In particular, the cost of raw materials are squeezing the construction budgets of governments and private developers alike.

The government index that tracks the price of raw materials for construction has recorded sharp increases recently. In June alone, the cost of steel products increased 8.1 percent, diesel fuel 5.7 percent, and asphalt 6.7 percent. In the past 12 months, costs for highway construction have increased 18.9 percent. The Association of General Contractors of America reports prices increased even higher since the government figures were released. A recent press release reports, "In the first two weeks of July, asphalt prices have jumped by 40 percent in several parts of the country. Prices for rebar-steel used to reinforce concrete in highways, bridges, and buildings soared $200 per ton." The ACG reports that the price of natural gas has doubled in one year, triggering jumps in the cost of materials that require gas as part of the manufacturing process, including PVC pipe, insulation, and flooring.

The cumulative change in cost of construction materials since December 2003 of 43 percent is nearly double the increase in the Consumer Price Index, the measure of inflation tied to consumer products. The numbers mean the cost of raw materials are increasingly more rapidly than other commodities in the market.

The increases are due to the increased costs of energy and metals, the result of limited supply and strong global demand. Jim Haughey of Reed Construction argues the implications are "frightening," because unlike cost increases in 2004, they're here to stay. The nature of the increases means the cost of construction for single-family housing has been less impacted than construction of roads and other infrastructure, underscoring the importance of identifying funds and streamlining planning for much-needed improvements.

Beautiful and Sustainable at a Surprising Price

Buildings can be judged successful thanks to good architecture, sustainable design, or a positive social impact. San Francisco's Plaza Apartments is a rare example of one that succeeds at all three.

A nine-story mixed-use building near downtown San Francisco, the Plaza Apartments contains 106 rental housing units, 1,000 square feet (93 sq m) of retail space, and a 99 seat performing arts venue. Not a conventional urban apartment building -- all 106 units are reserved for the previously chronically homeless. Developed by the nonprofit Public Initiatives Development Corporation on a $22 million budget, the project also contains services for building tenants, which include on-site case managers, a psychiatrist, and a nurse practitioner.

The project is part of a nationwide trend of "housing first" when dealing with homeless. New approaches recognize that securing housing is the first step to independent living. Cities across the country are finding that providing housing first and then treating underlying causes -- such as mental illness or drug addiction -- reduces the overall costs to taxpayers and social service agencies. Tenants of the Plaza Apartments pay half their income in rent, $410 on average.

In addition to the social mission, the structure also features cutting-edge LEED Silver environmental design. The roof sports both a sundeck and 26-kilowatt photovoltaic system. The creative facade is fine-tuned to maximize winter sun on one side and provide summer shade on another. The San Francisco Chronicle raved that the "designers crafted a structure of lasting warmth and presence," concluding the design features a "creative depth you don't find in most residential projects, including condominium complexes stuffed with seven-figure units."

Although the project wasn't developed for a profit, it has taken over a hundred of formerly homeless off the street and improved the character of the neighborhood. With city residents and officials pushing hard for community benefits, particularly in return for allowing lucrative investments in urban neighborhoods, the Plaza Apartments could contain ideas useful elsewhere. Instead of writing a check to a faceless housing fund, a donation towards a facility like the one described here could improve the neighborhood and set formerly homeless people on a path to recovery.

A complete case study of this project can be found on ULI's Development Case Studies web site, which features detailed descriptions of urban development projects around the world updated each quarter.

Only subscribers can access the complete case studies, but short descriptions are available to all. The complete case study for Plaza Apartments includes floor plans, contact information of the development team, description of building features, and a summary of important lessons learned.

Cities Strive to Lessen Environmental Impact

As cities continue to grow, so does its impact on the environment. In recognition of Earth Day today, the National Press Club hosted an event, "Protecting the Environment in Cities, the U.S., and the World," where Ben Grumbles, assistant administrator for water at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Richard Baier, the director of transportation and environmental services for Alexandria, Va., discussed how cities are tackling stormwater management and other infrastructure issues.

Grumbles informed attendees and other guest panelists about the EPA's recent efforts in green infrastructure and green transportation. Green infrastructure can be defined as management approaches and technologies infiltrate, evapotranspire, capture and reuse stormwater to maintain or restore natural hydrologies.

Of note, Grumbles detailed a recent initiative formalizing an effort among EPA, the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA), the Association of States and Interstate Water Pollution Control Administrators (ASIWPCA), the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and the Low Impact Development (LID) Center, in addition to over 50 companies who signed a statement of support, to assist state, city, and local governments in implementing and evaluating innovative and effective green infrastructure approaches.

Moving Beyond 'Drive until you Qualify'

In a joint effort by the Chicago-based Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) and Washington, D.C.-based the Brookings Institute, an interactive mapping web tool -- the Housing + Transportation Affordability Index -- was developed to measure the true affordability of housing by applying transportation costs.

The tool provides housing and transportation costs as a percentage of income on a neighborhood-level basis for 52 metropolitan areas using 2000 U.S. Census data and analysis of household transportation costs.

Urban planners, policy-makers, and transportation and housing advocates measure housing affordability as 30 percent or less of household income. However, housing affordability is not always what it seems.

As Scott Bernstein, president for CNT explained during a presentation today at the Brookings Institute, the old adage of "drive until you qualify" is really no longer an appropriate measure of housing affordability. As gas prices increase along with suburban sprawl, much of the population is paying as much for transportation as they are housing.

Urban Farming

The publication Growing Cooler, released September 2007, demonstrated how redesigning our metropolitan regions will reduce the release of greenhouse gases by reducing vehicle miles traveled (VMTs) –-- the more compact we design communities, the less people have to drive. While this is a seemingly obvious conclusion it is important to have the research to demonstrate and quantify its benefits.

But there is more that must be done in redesigning metropolitan areas in addition to building compact communities. Space must also be planned for urban and regional farms close to where people live and shop.

Stop, don’t click away.  This is not about how nice it is to have a farmers' market, though that is more than nice.  Nor is this a cute ‘60’s throwback, “Let’s all get back to the land.” Eating local food reduces energy and thus greenhouse gases, possibly as much as cutting household energy use by 20 percent, according to a Japanese study reported in Bill McKibben’s excellent book Deep Economy.