The Revitalist

Protesters breaking down the gates at City Hall.

Even before Hurricane Katrina, HUD had taken control of the housing authority in New Orleans and had planned to demolish several of the city's housing projects to make way for mixed income housing – much to the dismay of residents and the architecture critic of the New York Times. Following the big storm, the condition of some of the buildings was significantly deteriorated, leading to an even greater push for demolition. Yesterday, the New Orleans City Council voted to approve the demo of three complexes. Angry residents showed up at City Hall to protest, and the police were waiting for them. The confrontation escalated to protesters breaking through the locked gates to the building and police responding with pepper spray and tasers. Fifteen people were arrested, and the Council voted for demo anyway. Here's hoping that 2008 brings better things for N.O.

When I heard that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie had moved to New Orleans a while back, I thought it was a little odd; but Pitt's latest announcement is, I guess, the logical outgrowth of that decision. Pitt has announced the designs for his Make It Right project – a project that will build 150 affordable, green houses in the Lower Ninth Ward. You can browse the designs on the website and sponsor a whole house or a particular element, like a thermostat, a refrigerator, or a low-flush toilet. You can even donate in someone else's name and give them a certificate instead of the standard Christmas sweater. Pitt explained the how and why behind the project on NPR.

The project team includes William McDonough + Partners (green design), Graft (master planning and collaborators with the Jolie-Pitt Foundation on projects around the world), and the Cherokee Gives Back Foundation (financing). The project asked architecture firms to submit designs (pro-bono) for houses that could be sold for $150,000, had at least 3 bedrooms and a front porch, and incorporated green and sustainable design. The designs are in, and it looks like this is the short list of designs from which residents will choose.

Concordia's design features a front stair that is sized for entertaining.

Morphosis' design will float like a boat during a flood.

This design, by BNIM, is my favorite. It seems the most closely related to the vernacular architecture of the area.

Today is a quiet day at AHF – most of us are at the NH&RA Fall Forum. If you don't know about the National Housing and Rehabilitation Association, they are a great resource for those of us in the preservation, development and housing business. Their content is geared towards development professionals and can be heavy duty on tax and finance issues. But, by the time you've heard the session on tax credit structuring or how to combine HTC and NMTC three or four times, it really starts to sink in.

Boston Metro area targeted for smart growth by MetroFuture.

The Globe reports on the planning recommendations released by the Metro Future initiative. The recommendations are the result of a series of public meetings and strategy sessions organized by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council. The conclusion is that if we proceed along our current development path, there won't be much green space left in the Metro area and our water resources will be severely stressed; and, therefore, we need to think about alternative strategies to encourage more responsible development. MAPC would like to see housing growth focused in existing cities and town centers. The detractors counter that many people, especially the young families that the state is desperate to retain, don't want to live in an urban environment. But lots of people do raise families in the city. They just need a certain level of urban amenities to make it comfortable, which municipalities could provide if they are willing to do some work. One of the key steps that MAPC identifies is editing the zoning codes to allow for greater density in and around the downtown cores. (They also have a blog to discuss the hows and whys of their recommendations.)

We attended one of the Metro Future sessions, and I was struck by one thing – the lack of discussion of adaptive reuse. I understand that they are now talking about mill rehabs as one way to gain housing in the urban cores, but they don't really seem to have made the connection between the need and the supply. Adaptive reuse can do more than just make lofts out of old mills. Revitalizing the downtown commercial streets and rehabbing those former office buildings is going to be key to providing the urban amenities that will draw young families to the downtown. I would like to see more discussion of rehab projects as a smart growth solution to the economic and environmental problems created by suburban sprawl.

The concept of the urban retirement village is not only going urban, it's going high-rise. Luxury towers that combine independent living, assisted living and nursing care in one building and under one operational umbrella are springing up around the country. They often feature lots of in-building amenities and services and are within walking distance of cultural activities and neighborhood amenities. Residents can transition from independent living to assisted or nursing care without leaving their community. Of course, high quality amenities and great locations don't come cheap. Most of these buildings have a high entry fee and monthly fees that match the lux surroundings. These buildings are expensive to build and operate, in part because they are regulated like other residential care facilities. But they sound like a great option for retirees who can afford them. It would be nice to see a similar concept, more affordable, developed for the middle-income crowd.

One of my favorite thinkers on issues related to culture, economics and design is Virginia Postrel. Her latest column in The Atlantic Monthly looks at why lofts are spreading like wildfire across the nation, even where there isn't an old warehouse anywhere in sight: Lofty Ambitions: Once upon a time, lofts were cheap spaces for struggling artists. Today they are phony and pricey, and that's just fine.

She suggests that even though brand new loft-style condos don't have the patina of an old warehouse and the authenticity of space carved out by squatting artists, that doesn't mean that they aren't real or valuable. Developers and buyers alike are latching onto the features that those original lofts had that fit today's lifestyles and aesthetic tastes.

"Today's lofts represent not only the adaptive reuse of old buildings but also the adaptive reuse of the very idea of loft living. The style is less about architecture than about a particular ideal of urban life.

"What makes a loft authentic isn't its layout or its history but its ability to give people a true home—a dwelling that reflects their personalities and aspirations, including their dreams of urbanity." 

The NY Times reports on two "traditional" home building techniques that are making an eco-fashionable comeback.

The house built out of straw (with mica-flecked plaster and a wrap around porch).

And the dirt floor (new and improved with a wax sealant and ox blood for "maroon coloration").

Both of these are modern variations on techniques used for centuries by people motivated by necessity rather than aesthetics; or, as the Times puts it, "Millions of poor people around the globe use natural materials like dirt for their homes whether they want to or not." But now people with plenty of disposable income are craving something more natural, something "really special," something unusual that screams their dedication to living green. As one earthen floor enthusiast puts it, "I think people are craving the earth. They want to be more primal. How much more primal can you get than dirt?" Indeed.

The NYTimes reports on a trend that we have been hearing a lot about lately: mixed use residential developments centered around colleges and universities. We have heard about alumni-focused developments meant to attract retiring baby boomers to urban condos near their alma mater. The idea is that they will be attracted to the diverse cultural activities, the health care at university hospitals and an environment that is vibrant and youthful. The Times article teases out another thread of this trend–rural and small town schools building mixed use town centers to project a more urban environment. These schools have been getting the sense that students are attracted to the bucolic, intellectual retreat idea the way they used to be and that they need an urban-like social scene to stay competitive. (It's an "if you build it, they will come" idea.) At the same, the colleges are realizing that the town centers will attract not just students, but also retirees and working families, who both feed off the college's intellectual and cultural activities and contribute to the urban mix that is so desirable. The majority of these developments are going up in the New Urbanist style, which is tailor made for creating a homey, urban environment from whole cloth. One has to wonder if in a few years these colleges will be dealing with the same student v. neighborhood conflicts that most urban schools wrestle with. Is this an out of the frying pan and into the fire solution?

CoolTown Studios posts about the skillful use of color in residential development and a recent ULI article that suggests that there is a quantifiable return on color investment. The color consultant helps with more than just the color of the couch in the model unit; they select the exterior siding and accent colors. The article suggests that exterior color is especially important for rental developments because it establishes the crucial first impression about the project—is it modern and fresh or same old, same old; does it catch your eye and peak your interest? The developer interviewed in the ULI piece about his San Bruno, CA development says that hiring a color consultant had a "huge impact" on his pro formas, exceeding income projections by 15%. Now that's a number that will really get a bank to sit up and listen. "Developers who do not hire a professional to do their exterior colors ... are really stepping over dollars to pick up dimes."

Of course, an adaptive reuse project in a historic district can just decide to paint the building the latest color of burnt umber or moss green. But we can still be creative about using color to identify our buildings and stand out in the marketplace—especially if there is reward at the end of the rainbow.

The ULI has announced that J. Ronald Terwilliger of Trammel Crow Residential has donated $5m to create the ULI Terwilliger Center for Workforce Housing (via The Ground Floor). The center will be based in DC and will research and advocate for creative and smart workforce housing in mixed-income settings. The center will focus first on three markets will be Atlanta, Southeast Florida and Washington D.C., planning to create at least 3, 500 new housing units in five years.

During the press conference, Terwilliger spoke about the hurdles that local, NIMBY zoning present and the need for greater support from state and federal programs. The rising cost of development—"There is almost nowhere in this country where we [Trammel Crow] can build a 1,000 square foot apartment for under $100,000"—means that the private market cannot get this done on their own. The ULI can bring a national perspective to overcoming local obstacles and can find  effective ways to incentivize private investment in workforce housing.

We feel strongly that adaptive re-use in urban cores and inner-ring suburbs can provide the density and transit options that make high quality, smart growth workforce housing. But the challenges that Terwilliger outlined are ones that we face constantly. He is right about the need for government support and incentives. We would like to see greater conversation between the adaptive reuse community and the smart growth community because we are all working towards the same goal, and we could do it better together.