3-2-1: Sweden's National Innovation Agency, A Project Spotlight, My Site Plan Submission, & More
Week #11
Happy Friday -
Here are a few things on incremental real estate development, smart growth, and creating places people want to live:
3 things from others
2 things from me
1 picture
Enjoy!
3 THINGS FROM OTHERS
I.
In Auckland, New Zealand, a new neighborhood development doesn’t fit into any standard zoning categories, so the developer is proposing new zones: a Walkable Residential zone and a Walkable Commercial zone.
The new 15,000-person neighborhood is called Sunfield and has the lofty goal of radically reshaping the way we live. By focusing on fewer car-laden roads, better public transportation, the use of solar technology, and denser communities, they’re able to offer homes at a 20% discount to the Auckland average.
But it’s not just about price point. The developer, Winton, is intent on creating truly local living that ties in elements of convenience, health, and community building as well. This includes 2 schools, 56 acres of parks and wetlands, 100+ retail outlets, and 11,000 permanent jobs.
And don’t forget to check out that drone delivery in the top-right corner above. The future is here, folks.
II.
Then, over in Sweden, they’ve slowly been rolling out their Street Moves initiative—a nation-wide effort to rethink and makeover every street in the country by 2030.
If you’re familiar with the 15-minute city, it’s a hyperlocal version of that. In effect, it allows local communities to become co-architects of their own streets’ layouts. Which, as much as I hate to say it, is actually pretty innovative given the traditional, top-down nature of most planning authorities.
In fact, the whole initiative is the brainchild of Vinnova, Sweden’s national innovation agency. Yes, that’s right. Sweden has a freakin’ innovation agency.
Anyhow, the program works like this. The project has developed a kit of street furniture, designed to fit the dimensions of a standard parking space and built on hard-wearing pine decks. These kits are then customized based on community need—seating planters, bike or scooter racks, children’s play spaces or electric car charging station are all some of the options. Basically, the Lego or IKEA of urban planning.
Street Moves has already been rolled out experimentally at four sites in Stockholm, with three more cities about to join up.
III.
A great Twitter thread on some of the difficulties small-scale developers face when seeking financing on mixed-use construction of residential and commercial.
2 THINGS FROM ME
I.
I’m starting to juggle a few different projects at the same time. And, as I was writing this week, I realized that it would probably be helpful to dedicate an individual page per project on here—a place where all project updates are captured week-over-week and can be easily referenced. Perhaps even a place to organize myself and keep my own thoughts straight. As if that were possible.
Anyhow. With that, I’ll introduce the Project Spotlight for 501 Main (others coming out soon).
Don’t worry, this doesn’t mean you’ll be blasted with more than the one 3-2-1 email each week. Think of the Project Spotlight as an endless parking lot (one can only dream) for relevant project updates I give in the 3-2-1.
So, going forward, if I reference a project of mine you don’t remember or blocked out of your memory, don’t fret. The Project Spotlight has you covered.
And just remember kids. Say no to parking.
II.
In my last update on 501 Main (see? Easily referenced), I talked about my preliminary review with the town’s Development Review Board (DRB). It was an informal conversation to present and discuss the project’s proposed roof line given the town has somewhat restrictive bylaws pertaining to new construction. That meeting went well and I got the DRB’s non-binding blessing on our design.
And so, with that little boost in confidence, we pivoted to preparing the formal site plan application. This includes a cover letter, site plan, elevations, and any supporting documentation.
For some background, the DRB (like any municipal planning board) has the authority to approve or deny requests for new development based on the town’s zoning codes. Everything from number of parking spaces and amount of outdoor common area, to setbacks and building height is regulated. In effect, the DRB is the gatekeeper to getting a project entitled and shovel-ready. Without their approval, you’re just a sitting duck holding a loss-producing asset.
This week, we submitted our formal site plan application with a check for $115. Feel free to take a look:
Site plan (same as above)
With everything submitted, we got our warned hearing for October 26th!
For the most part, we were able to meet the requirements outlined in the zoning bylaws: we’re maintaining the original building footprint (no setback issues); and we’re able to meet the update parking requirements that were increased several weeks ago (yes, increased! 🤦). Our 450 square foot studios must now have two parking spots apiece.
But, no matter how we cut it, we have difficulty staying within the maximum building height constraint of 35’. Which, honestly, seems somewhat arbitrary given the numerous other buildings within the village center that exceed 35’ (including the building right next door to 501 Main).
So, after being warned that we must stay within 35’ to satisfy the zoning gods, we are going ahead and asking for a 2’ allowance on top of that. If you’re thinking, well, why don’t you just cut the building down 2’ and skip the whole variance runaround?, then I’d encourage you to take a look at the cover letter I shared with the DRB for an explanation. Long story short, it comes down to simple economics—reducing the building by 2’ kicks off a spider web of downstream construction impacts that ultimately kill the financials of the project.
My hope is that, by laying out the above explanation, the board will come to understand the rationale for how we arrived at our request for a 37’ building height. It is not out of architectural showmanship or desire to be the tallest building on the block. Rather, it is the result of solving for function alongside the fundamental desire to develop the best possible product within the financial constraints that we are bound to.
I’ll part with the following. Knowing 501 Main’s location, it is almost certain that the building will become a focal point at the northern end of town, capturing attention and (hopefully) retail traffic along US-5. I’d encourage the board to keep this in mind as they conduct their site plan review. 501 Main will be a big part of the northern Village Center for decades to come and we, collectively, have one shot at getting it right.
Here’s to getting it right 🍻.
1 PICTURE
I.
Is density really the problem?
📍 Somewhere in the Netherlands
From @JerppaM
That’s it for today. Thanks for reading. If you haven’t yet, go ahead and subscribe here:
About me: I’m Jonah Richard, a small-scale real estate developer in Vermont. With my company, Village Ventures, I’m currently getting my hands dirty redeveloping mixed-use buildings along Main Street while trying to pick apart and replicate what makes other communities thrive.
Follow me on Twitter for more things related to incremental real estate development, smart growth, and creating great places.
Based on the loads you've mentioned for the 501 Main project (EV ready parking spaces, electric air heating, electric water heating, etc.) you'll probably need to dedicate a space on the site for a pad-mounted transformer. The utility won't be able to pole mount a transformer that large. FYI on transformer lead times, they're real bad right now, so coordinating the new service should probably be a priority if you don't want that messing with your construction schedule.