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4 Ds of Affordable Housing Development

A recent conference featuring Affordable Housing (AH) developers from the San Francisco Bay Area discussed the challenges of developing AH in the area while noting that the lack of AH is not unique to the Bay Area. In fact, it’s a national problem and requires structural changes to the way government views private property rights according to one participant. Tenderloin Neighborhood Development CEO Donald Falk further commented that part of the long-term solution involves public ownership of land.

From the perspective here on Oahu, utilizing property owned by the government aka public land, could be part of the solution to our ongoing AH crisis. Using public land for AH covers one of the 4 Ds of AH development – DIRT. The other three Ds are: Dollars, Determination and Density.

More Mobility Options = More Rent

Recent studies bear out the data showing greater mobility, whether it be from bike-share, transit lines, car sharing and the like, results in higher rents. Significant differences in rental rates were shown in studies from not just places like Seattle and New York but also in less-expected locales such as Austin and Charlotte.

“Among multifamily projects built across the country in this real estate cycle, the study shows a 10% increase in a project’s MobilityScore correlated with a rent increase of $0.12 per SF, and the difference in MobilityScore accounts for 28% of the variation in rent per square foot. Mobility scores are measured in more than the number of steps to a bus stop or light rail station.

The study analyzed the times between buses that stop in an area (a bus that runs every five minutes scores much higher than one that runs every 30 minutes, for example) and the time spent waiting for a Lyft or Uber driver. The study also factored in bike-share services, both docked and dockless, and car-share services such as Zipcar.”

California Legislator Forces Serious Housing Discussion with SB 827

Estimates put California’s housing shortage around 4,000,000 and climbing. There are many contributing factors including onerous permitting processes across various jurisdictions, the ever-present NIMBY attitude of those who already have housing and don’t want their neighborhood “disturbed” by others and the general high cost of construction just to name a few.

State Senator Scott Wiener has pushed the issue to the forefront by introducing SB 827, known as the Transit-Rich Housing Bill, which aims to permit more housing around transit hubs (also redefined in the bill) by superseding local height and density limits. It also imposes a minimum height requirement for housing developments in transit hub areas. Understandably, local officials and residents are aghast. And, as Sentaor Wiener pointed out, the purpose of the bill was to force a serious conversation about how to provide needed housing, encourage diversity and bolster the economy. This is all well worth reading.

Passage at San Mateo – A Lot to Like about this Proposed Multi-family TOD Project

Located close to two CalTrain stations, Hayward Park and Hillside, the Passage at San Mateo is a proposed multi-family TOD project that includes more than 900 units, a food hall, Trader Joe’s, 7-11 and much more. The coffee shop is not simply a place to get your coffee, it will also have dedicated Lyft and Uber drop off/pick up areas, a place for the corporate shuttles that ferry employees back and forth to work in Silicon Valley and a bike-share program. Plus, a planned 3.5 acres of park space.

Of particular interest to me are the plans for the food hall (pictured above) whose design is very much informed by the mid-20th century Eichler-style homes in the area. The clean and even now modern aesthetic is strongly appealing. The developers intend to include local healthy choices for residents of the complex as well as people from the surrounding neighborhoods.

This approach of creating a hub for the entire neighborhood as well as people transiting from the two nearby stations, practically guarantees that a micro-economy will spring up here by what seems the simply thoughtful approach of providing everyone with desirable options for every day needs and wants.

If I Walk to Your Store, I Spend More

Everyone knows that walking more is good health, outlook and research is turning up that shows it’s especially healthy for retailers looking to increase sales.

This is a lengthy article regarding the subject, and it’s well worth reading through to understand the dynamics and consider your strategy if you are a retailer. For planners and others, it offers the opportunity to create what is termed “seamless” experience from the street to the shop.

“Commercial properties in walkable urban locations pay off, with a higher value of 40% to 140% per SF over a drivable suburban product; additionally, rents are 20% to 100% higher, according to land-use strategist, professor, real estate developer and researcher Christopher Leinberger.”

DLA Angels Landing Development Limits Parking – Shocks Everyone

Apparently the concept of limiting parking is so startling to car-centric Los Angeles residents that there were audible gasps when the developer announced they were only going to provide 465 stalls for a development that includes 2 hotels, 425 apartments, 250 condos, an elementary school plus retail, a park and a food hall.

We applaud this bold step for what sounds like an excellent mixed-use development and look forward to the day when government regulations regarding parking minimums give way to parking maximums and eventually leave it up to the developer. Read the story here.

LA Rams New Stadium as a Model for Aloha Stadium?

The impressive privately financed new stadium being built in Inglewood could serve as a model for the redevelopment of Aloha Stadium. One thing Aloha Stadium already has, a future rail stop, is something this developer is lobbying for to create an overall better experience for visitors and residents alike.

See the Aloha Stadium redevelopment plans here.

Small Developers Shift Neighborhoods

We had the opportunity of touring the amazing building pictured above with the developer right as construction was wrapping up. You can easily imagine what a reaction this building has created in the usually dreary climes of Portland Oregon – definitely a love it or hate it type of building. As impressive as the photo is, it is even more intriguing in real life.

The developer behind it, and other neighborhood transforming projects, is Kevin Cavenaugh, the principal behind Portland-based Guerrilla Development. He is as eccentric as one might expect, yet his philosophy and approach to development is sound and he brings value to everything he does.

He recently presented to ULI’s Minnesota Young Leaders Group and you can read more about him, his approach and his advice to new and aspiring developers.

Automation: An Argument for AV as a Do-Over for Urban Planning

I found this article framed around the recent Uber Autonomous Vehicle (AV) pedestrian death in Phoenix interesting and well reasoned. The author frames the argument around the historic transformation brought about by the automobile and the opportunity AV technology presents to create better places that deliver long-term good.

“Instead, the truly challenging debate—the one that will last—will involve where to permit AVs to drive and how we reform other transportation and design laws in the process. It’s not hyperbole to say every single rule and penalty related to transportation and street design could be upended within the next few decades. Sound fantastical? It already happened once within our grandparents’ lifetimes.

The introduction of affordable automobiles in the early twentieth century led to a safety and efficiency crisis on our city and early suburban streets. Vehicle fatalities jumped from non-existent to over 10,000 in a short period. In response, a genuine, long-term fight ensued over where to put pedestrians and vehicles within the shared right-of-way. Peter Norton has a great book detailing this history, but the key result is that the car was the big winner. New laws restricted pedestrians to only walk on sidewalks and cross at designated places. And while vehicles had to be registered to use the streets and drivers licensed, speed limits rose significantly, including on new kinds of streets designed explicitly for higher speeds.”

New Construction Multi-Story Warehouse Debuts in Seattle

As “last mile” logistics grow in importance due to consumer demand for one or two hour delivery after ordering, Prologis is completing construction on a new multi-story warehouse located about five minutes from downtown Seattle. The building will be open for tenants sometime this summer.

While multi-story warehouses are common in land-constrained Asian markets like Hong Kong and Tokyo, they are not the norm in the U.S. Demand for near-instant delivery is changing that and we expect to see many more such buildings in the future including a redeveloped multi-story warehouse in New York City and a new multi-story warehouse under construction in San Francisco both by Prologis.