The home building industry is in for a long, grueling winter, but there are signs of spring on the horizon. At opposite ends of the country, two new urbanist neighborhoods are sprouting up on sites that were more than ready for a little rejuvenation. Thanks to smart planning and a cooperative effort between public and private entities, East Beach (top right), a 100-acre project in Norfolk, Va., that was once a collection of crime-ridden housing, and Villebois (left), formerly home to the state mental hospital in Wilsonville, Ore., are on their way to becoming dynamic traditional neighborhood developments (TNDs).
Large scale as these projects may be, there are lessons here for builders of all sizes, whether you're constructing homes on a few lots or stepping up to the dual role of builder/developer and tackling a brand-new neighborhood. First, it pays to look at pockets of land in locations that are close to jobs and transit (even if that means doing some remediation). Infill is here to stay. Second, it's in your interest to work closely with state and local authorities. Public-private partnerships may help expedite approvals, achieve community buy-in, and unearth additional funding sources. And third, one successful community often begets another. There is no currency more valuable than goodwill banked from a past project when you're asking a zoning commission to approve the next one.
Getting in on a promising project at the ground floor takes some legwork, but it's a worthy long-term investment. Done right, your development might just be exactly what folks want in their backyard. And chances are, it will be an improvement on what was there before.
Bayside Beauty
At East Beach in Norfolk, Va., tip-top planning and Tidewater design join forces to turn a crumbling site into a vibrant waterfront neighborhood.
At the turn of the 20th Century, Ocean View Amusement Park in Norfolk, Va., was a big draw for residents of the Hampton Roads region. They flocked to the boardwalk and roller coaster via both streetcar and ferry, happy to soak up the sun and smell the salt air (generated not by an ocean, exactly, but by the mighty Chesapeake Bay). “It was a kind of Great Gatsby–like destination,” says D. B. “Bart” Frye Jr., a managing partner with East Beach Co., developers of East Beach, a new 100-acre TND built on the peninsula that was once home to Ocean View. “For years and years, it was a wonderful place.”
Fast-forward to the end of the century. By then, after a huge expansion of population during World War II (Norfolk is home to the U.S. Atlantic Fleet and the largest naval base in the world), Ocean View had fallen into disrepair. In place of the vibrant beach resort were 1,600 dilapidated residential units, owned primarily by absentee landlords. “Ten years ago, a cab wouldn't take a fare to Ocean View and a pizza driver wouldn't deliver,” says Frye. Military police were allowed to arrest service personnel just for being at Ocean View, which had more than its share of drugs, prostitutes, and violent crime. The city was spending $2.5 million to $3 million a year on public safety issues alone.
Ocean View's slide into slum status especially irked Norfolk Mayor Paul Fraim and W. Randy Wright, Ocean View's representative on the Norfolk City Council. The two men were a big part of a $50 million citywide effort to obtain title to the land and clear the 100 acres for development.