Lawrence, Kansas
Unlike many — if not most — American cities, Lawrence, Kansas, has a vibrant, intact downtown. The fringes of the city, however, had been under increasing development pressure in recent years, leading local officials to undertake an intense planning and coding process to manage developing sprawl. They turned to the SmartCode, and PlaceMakers, to create…
Read MoreFitchburg, Wisconsin
Fitchburg has the unique advantage of lying between the time-tested urbanity of Madison and the inspiring landscape of the agrarian countryside. Citizens have access to either in a matter of minutes. But what’s missing in its current array of suburban housing and commercial areas is the appeal and practical performance of more compact, walkable neighborhoods.…
Read MorePike Road, Alabama
Talk about killing two birds with one stone. Pike Road, Alabama, Mayor Gordon Stone had two key opportunities before him. First was the rural city’s prospects for growth. Just 15 miles outside Montgomery in its primary growth corridor, there was no question it was coming. And quick. With an aggressive strategy to encourage and manage…
Read MoreRevelstoke, British Columbia
In his introduction to Revelstoke’s Official Community Plan (OCP), adopted in July of 2009, Mayor David Raven made a promise: “This is not a ‘whatever will be, will be’ plan,” he said, “for the future is ours to see.” The mission thereafter: Enable the OCP’s forward-looking vision, goals and policies with a regulatory approach that…
Read MoreEarly County 2055 | Georgia
Charles B. Rice grew up in Early County, Georgia, and moved away to make his fortune. Upon returning, he was struck by the downtrodden state of the county, and undertook a 50-year visioning effort to turn things around. Recognizing the expansive scope of his challenge, he engaged PlaceMakers to facilitate an economic development visioning process…
Read MoreHill Street Lofts | Atlanta, Georgia
As any real estate professional will tell you, location matters. And sometimes, despite whatever desirable features you may be offering, it can be a deal-breaker. Such was the case with the Hill Street Lofts, a 146-unit, entry-level residential project in the existing, intown Atlanta neighborhood of Chosewood Park — high atop the area’s highest point…
Read MoreThe Reynolds | Atlanta, Georgia
The Reynolds is a vertical mixed-use condominium development, offering 130 homes over street-level shops and restaurants along Atlanta’s famed Peachtree Street. The first neotraditional project amidst the glass and steel towers of Atlanta’s Midtown renaissance, it evokes the timeless and grand lifestyle that made Peachtree Street a household name. In many ways, it was the…
Read MoreHedgewood Homes | Atlanta, Georgia
Hedgewood may have started as a small, independent homebuilder competing on the basis of quality and architectural distinction, but such modest days were short-lived. Over the course of twenty years, the principles that drove their early success fueled an evolution into one of the Southeast’s most admired builders of environmentally-friendly, architecturally inspiring, traditional neighborhoods. Long…
Read MoreCalgary, Alberta | East Village
The East Village plan includes a form-based urban code and provides for a new mixed-use, high density urban neighbourhood of 8,500-9,500 residents and over 100,000 square feet of ground level commercial retail in Calgary’s downtown core. Under sub-contract to Jenkins & Associates, PlaceMakers (operating as T-Six Urbanists at the time) prepared a comprehensive downtown area…
Read MoreFour A | Conyers, Georgia
When a developer sets out to do something special in a place hit hard by the housing bust, skepticism is to be expected. And when that place is also grappling with the challenges of shifting demographics, misinformation can quickly spiral out of control. Clarity — of intentions, of vision, and of plan — is key.
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