The Anaheim Redevelopment Agency had two primary goals in mind when it sought a public/private partnership to convert a 5.3-acre (2.1 ha) former truck transfer facility along Anaheim Boulevard to housing: 1) the revitalization of vacant, once industrial properties in downtown, and 2) the development of affordable housing. The agency used a competitive request for proposals (RFP) process to select John Laing Homes (JLH) as its partner to develop the site. The homebuilder was chosen in large part because of its creative and innovative designs and its demonstrated ability to work effectively with community leaders. The completed project includes 20 single-family detached homes and homes and 36 townhomes.
Flanked by columns ten meters (33 ft.) tall on which hieroglyphic animals are carved, and set in lush landscaping with a menagerie of bronze animal sculptures, the gateway that welcomes residents and visitors to Savannah CondoPark dramatically sets the stage for this sustainable, safari adventure–themed community. Inside the gates, 18 ten-story condominium buildings, with footprints totaling 23 percent of the 5.5-hectare (13.6-acre) site, curve around a four-hectare (ten-acre) common open space featuring pools, gardens, and terraces.
Located in the rapidly growing southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, bordering Hong Kong, the Fifth Garden represents a radical departure from the norm of recent urban residential development in China. Rather than fitting as many units as possible in a Western-style high-rise building or townhouse complex, Vanke Real Estate Company—mainland China’s largest real estate developer—opted to celebrate Chinese tradition and design in its Fifth Garden project, a 11.2-hectare (27.7-ac) planned community containing 1,000 high-end for-sale residential units, a small commercial core, generous amounts of public open space, and parking for 750 cars.
South Campus Gateway is a visionary collaboration between the Ohio State University, the city of Columbus, and neighborhood stakeholders in an effort to transform a 7.5-acre (3 ha) tract that straddles the university campus and a distressed, low-income neighborhood. Developed by the not-for-profit Campus Partners, the $150 million dynamic mixed-use development is the signature project in the organization’s decade-long planning effort to revitalize the University District area. Using a complex layering of financing, the project comprises 184 apartments, 98,000 square feet (9,105 m2) of office space, and 249,000 square feet (23,133 m2) of retail stores, including an eight-screen cinema, a dozen restaurants, a university bookstore, and an organic grocery.
Located in the newly established district of Nanhai, the 286-acre (116 ha) Thousand Lantern Lake Park System provides a continuous urban corridor for the surrounding neighborhood. It consists of a commercial precinct, hotels, public parks, civic buildings, streetscapes, and a museum arranged around a series of lakes and waterways. The latter act as the connecting elements within the larger site and provide transportation networks that run through the entire park. The entire green, mixed-use corridor brings energy and liveliness to the city.
One of the first parks built as part of the District of Columbia’s Anacostia Waterfront Initiative, Canal Park presents a model of sustainability, attaining both Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITES) and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certifications. The public-private partnership that was established in order to design, fund, and develop the project allowed for neighborhood-scale impact. The park has quickly established itself as a social gathering place and an economic trigger for the surrounding neighborhood.
Buffalo Bayou Park is a 160-acre linear park stretching for 2.3 miles west of downtown Houston, along the region’s primary river. A $58 million capital campaign transformed the park from a neglected drainage ditch into a citywide showpiece. Its ten acres of trails wind past seven major public art installations, three gardens of native flora, and over four pedestrian bridges; two festival lawns, a dog park, a skate park, a nature play area, a restaurant, and an art exhibit hall draw visitors from afar. Structures were carefully sited above the path of potential floods, while park elements within the valley were designed and built to be submerged during future floods—requiring cleanup, rather than reconstruction, after the inevitable floods.
The nonprofit Buffalo Bayou Partnership orchestrated a joint effort between public sector partners and private donors: private donors funded the park, in tandem with public sector improvements to the river channel and adjacent streets, and with a plan for ongoing maintenance. The park’s completion was a milestone that launched a broader effort to reimagine the possibilities of streams across the region.
Prospect Plaza is a mixed-use affordable housing redevelopment project spread over five buildings and three blocks in Brooklyn’s Ocean Hill–Brownsville neighborhood. The $200 million project is replacing a former New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) complex with a mix of nearly 400 public housing and affordable rental apartments, retail space, and community and recreational facilities designed to support resident health in a rapidly developing area with significant public health challenges.
A bright white “side-scraper” stretches three-tenths of a mile along the eastern edge of downtown Los Angeles, sandwiched between railroad yards and the river on one side and the city’s burgeoning loft district on the other. This structure is One Santa Fe, whose 510,000 square feet of space includes 438 apartments (88 of which are affordable units), as well as 78,620 square feet of retail and office space. The development, located on a narrow parking lot leased from a transit authority, was built using $165 million in public and private housing and commercial financing. Surrounding One Santa Fe’s internal pedestrian promenade is an eclectic mix of retailers, including both local convenience businesses and regional specialty shops that complement the neighborhood’s artistic and creative energy.
The Denizen is a 119-unit condominium and townhouse community that includes 105 condo flats in ten separate three-story buildings, 14 townhouses built as duplexes, and three separate open-space/amenity areas. The project is located on an 8.5-acre infill site near downtown Austin, Texas, and was developed as an affordable option for homebuyers desiring an intown location. The plan features a community garden, numerous rain gardens throughout the site, a central amenity area with a swimming pool and a lawn, and a retention basin that also serves as an amphitheater for special events. All units offer either yards or balconies facing an amenity area and views of the downtown Austin skyline.
