KennMar Construction’s Post

“It’s hardly a new idea: Up until the middle of the 20th century, urban neighborhoods typically displayed a mix of uses... Houses were interlaced with corner groceries, basement bars and storefronts offering a range of goods and services… That approach ended with the postwar emergence of strict zoning codes and car-centric planning, which steered commercial activity to shopping strips and centers”. “Planners around the country (US) are learning more and more the background of zoning — its extreme limitations, extreme exclusion and how zoning doesn’t really deliver the communities we want to live in. Communities happen organically; communities happen because of flexibility” ~ Joel Dock, Metro office of planning, Louisville, Kentucky. “The University of Louisville’s Urban Design Studio is mapping the locations and conditions of the city’s historic corner stores, with a goal of assessing options for their rehabilitation as anchors for neighborhood revitalization and sites for launching new businesses”. “People living in cities want local stores and services they can walk to” ~ Spencer Gardner, Spokane’s director of planning. Commercial activity within residential neighbourhoods is a win for sustainability, quality of life, community cohesion and social fabric, physical and mental health, and the local economy. (Please don't look too closely at the automated image... 'cigarettes'!) #zoning #landuse #urbanplanning #walkability #liveability #community #cornerstore #localbusiness #activetransport #local Bloomberg CityLab https://lnkd.in/gTSyEpzy

I wish more planning & development employees from cities would be required to attend conferences by trade associations. Case in point, #ICSC panel stated what is obvious to us in the #cre industry but not city employees. Why is the first floor vacant in this new #mixeduse development along the #lightrail? Read: Dave’s Hot Chicken senior vice president of real estate Dannon Shiff said during the Advancing Retail in Communities panel that ground-floor retail isn’t always “the highest and best use” of space in new residential properties. In the fast-casual chain’s headquarters city of Pasadena, for example, a lot of ground-floor retail space at residential projects sits empty “because there’s not the demand in every instance to have retail underneath residential,” Shiff said. Fellow panelist Larisa Ortiz, managing director of public nonprofit solutions for Streetsense, added that cities need help figuring out alternative uses for ground-floor spaces that might not be ideal for retail tenants. —“there’s not demand in every instance..”

I have a feeling we’ll look back on this project as the turning point that shifted the retail market west from Eagle Road to Ten Mile. I've been hearing rumors about some of the potential tenants, and it’s shaping up to be an exciting development! When my parents bought a home off Ten Mile about seven years ago, retail options in the area were limited. Now, with the Scheels development and this new project, it looks like the days of having to drive to Eagle Road for retail will soon be behind us. What do you think about this project and its impact on the area? #CommercialRealEstate #RetailDevelopment #TenMileID #GrowthOpportunity #BoiseDevelopment #RetailShift https://lnkd.in/ggKfwcjc

In this month's issue of Planning, I write about the oversupply of retail space found in many downtown environments - one that is too frequently sanctioned by zoning requirements that either require ground-floor commercial or restrict ground-floor residential (really, the same thing). This often happens in places where there is scant market demand. Even in instances where developers express resistance to requirements that will saddle them with unproductive space, planning orthodoxy often reigns, rooted in what I consider a mischaracterization of Jane Jacob's philosophy of "eyes on the street". So, what is the solution? First, let's acknowledge that great streets do not always need ground-floor retail, and vacant retail spaces never make for great streets. Is this really so controversial? APA seems to think so! Let me know what you think in the comments. For more, read the article here: https://lnkd.in/eKAGEmRw #PlanMag, #AmericanPlanningAssociation, #retailstrategy, #downtown

“In downtowns and #CBD’s across the country, two troubling trends are converging — too much #vacant retail space and too little housing….There is an elegant solution: putting residences, rather than just commercial uses, in the ground-floor spaces of certain buildings.” From working on #downtowns across North America, to me it’s all local, even hyper-local. The phenomenon Larisa describes is absolutely the case in some downtowns and not at all the case in others. For example, #retail absolutely belongs in some spots (gateway intersections) but not others (inside mid-block). Also, downtowns all have different #demand drivers for retail (and #housing), and we’re in a period of reaetting supply-demand equilibrium in almost all downtowns. #retailresilience #communitydesign #economicdevelopment

Would you own a refrigerator if you lived above the Costco frozen food section? Housing shortages demand innovative solutions, and Thrive Living's approach in Los Angeles is nothing short of inspiring. By constructing 800 apartments—184 of which are affordable—atop a Costco, they're blending retail and residential spaces in a way that maximizes land use and fosters community. At Ripley Design, we’re all about creative problem-solving, and this project stands out as a bold response to the housing crisis. The inclusion of a built-in Costco not only brings convenience to residents but also helps fund affordable housing—a win-win for urban living. We love seeing projects like this push the boundaries of traditional development. Mixed-use spaces have incredible potential to reimagine how we live, work, and connect. Do you think this would work in Northern Colorado? What other creative solutions have you seen tackling housing challenges? Let’s discuss! #UrbanDesign #AffordableHousing #InnovativeSolutions #CommunityBuilding #MixedUseDevelopment Photo Credit: Thrive Living

Post-Modern architect Robert Venturi's perspective in"Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture" has helped shape an important part of my approach to designing places intended for humans, and I'm excited to work in the "messy vitality" of Johnson Square Warehouse District! "I speak of a complex and contradictory architecture based on the richness and ambiguity of modern experience, including that experience which is inherent in art … I welcome the problems and exploit the uncertainties … I like elements which are hybrid rather than “pure”, compromising rather than “clean”, … accommodating rather than excluding … I am for messy vitality over obvious unity … I prefer “both-and” to “either-or”, black and white, and sometimes gray, to black or white … An architecture of complexity and contradiction must embody the difficult unity of inclusion rather than the easy unity of exclusion."

Big news for Brookswood-Fernridge! "A new grocery store, apartments, office space, and a community police office are being proposed for the corner of 200 Street and 32 Avenue in Brookswood's Booth neighbourhood, in a recent application made by Jim Pattions Developments. The proposal, on the northeast corner of the intersection, would include a 48,000 square foot Save-On-Foods grocery store, 447 apartment units, 58,500 square feet of other retail space, 28,400 square feet of office space, 17,300 square feet of municipal 'satellite' space, and a 2,300 square foot community policing office. In total, it would include five buildings, with the mixed-use commercial/residential buildings rising to six storeys. The buildings would cover just over nine acres (3.67 hectares)."

FREE WEBINAR ALERT (for TOMORROW)! Ever notice how people will COMPLAIN ABOUT HAVING TO PARK one block away from the heart of a vibrant and compelling Main Street but not 1/5th of a mile away (across a foreboding, uninteresting surface lot) from the mall or multiplex entrance? Or how the distances and inconveniences we're willing to tolerate tend to be contingent on the specific retail categories we're planning on patronizing? I'll be delving into these and other curiosities as part of a Connecticut Main Street Center-sponsored, one-hour ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION on "PARKING REQUIREMENTS IN DOWNTOWN AND MAIN STREET SETTINGS" this Thursday (May 23rd) at 11 am EST / 10 am CST / 9 am MST / 8 am PST (see link below to register, open to all). I'll be considering the matter through the lenses of the consumer and the retailer, while the critical perspectives of the public and private sectors will be channeled through Mark Barnhart (Director of Community and Economic Development, Town of Fairfield) and Alyssa Kent (Senior Development Director and Design Director, Spinnaker Real Estate Partners), respectively. Come join the conversation about everyone's favorite subject! #retailcontrarian #retail #retailleasing #retailrealestate #retailproperty #retaildevelopment #retailmarket #retailbroker #retailspace #retailindustry #retailers #downtown #mainstreet #mainstreets #citycenter #citycentre #highstreet #urbanretail #icsc #commercialrealestate #ida #iedc #uli #icma #planning #urbandevelopment #jll #citymanager #cnu #urbanist #strongtowns #businessimprovementdistrict #bid #bia #retailbrew #storefront #downtownrevitalization #nyt #wsj #urbanregeneration #planetizen #economicdevelopment #storefronts #atcm #15minutecity #vacantstorefronts #storefrontvacancy #retailvacancy #parking #onstreetparking #offstreetparking #parkingsupply #parkingtoday #connecticut #cmsc #parkade #carpark #parkingrequirements #parkingauthority #automobileaccess #access #parkingfacilities #parkinggarage #donaldshoup

Interesting discussion on better ways to develop affordable housing. Reposting My Comments: "I have been a major advocate for stacking housing above retail as a way to convert our shopping centers into mixed-use developments. The challenge, as pointed out in the article, is how these housing units are funded, which is primarily through LIHTC. LIHTC is overly competitive, highly regulated, and cumbersome financing requirements that limits the pool of developers and increases the costs of building, especially in neighborhoods that truly need it. The only challenge I have with the article is the project is located in a very well resourced community, which enables the developer's ability to get the loan. This is not always the case in low-to-moderate income communities that are challenged with getting a large commercial loan without a major subsidy attached to it, hence the reason for LIHTC and other government subsidies. I think other areas to reduce costs and increase supply are: 1) review LIHTC regulatory requirements to make changes that will ease the regulatory burden and strip it down to the bare minimum; 2) affordable housing with mixed-use development should receive a property tax incentive similar to a Class 6(b) program; and 3) affordable housing developments should receive a prevailing wage exemption to reduce the cost of labor. The City of Austin is building affordable housing at nearly $200K/unit. We are building at a minimum $600K/unit.