Exploring new urban markets

Since its acquisition of Columbus Realty Trust, Post Properties is moving ahead rapidly with the design and construction of new urbanist planning projects. The publicly traded real estate investment trust now has two regional headquarters: Post East in Atlanta, and Post West in Dallas. Post East is completing its first traditional neighborhood development (TND) in Atlanta, called Riverside. Designed by Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company (DPZ), Riverside received coverage in the Wall Street Journal for Post’s unusual marketing campaign, featuring an invented history for the development, going back to the Civil War. Contrivances aside, Riverside “is poised to be a big hit,” according to the Journal. “ Two months before the first building is scheduled to be completed, all of Riverside’s retail space is leased, and 65 people people have inquired about renting apartments, which are expected to command premium prices.” Meanwhile, Post West, formerly Columbus Realty Trust, is way ahead of their Atlanta colleagues when it comes to building New Urbanism. Post West created a formula for successful, high-density infill projects and TNDs in Dallas. Now they are building major projects in Denver and Phoenix (see plan), using RTKL Associates for design. The Roosevelt Neighborhood in Phoenix is typical of Post West projects, placing 358 standard apartments, 63 loft apartments, 17 townhomes and nearly 30,000 square feet of retail/office space on eight acres. The development surrounds and incorporates historic buildings, including an Episcopal church and market. Parking is hidden from the street in three multistory garages on the interior of blocks. A tree-lined boulevard is central to the project, connected to narrow, residential streets. Post West specializes in enclosed, pleasantly detailed streetscapes creating a quality pedestrian environment, despite the high density. Six private and two public courtyards add to the community space. The Phoenix project fits Post’s strategy of identifying a blighted inner city area that is bounded on at least two sides by positive activity, e.g. an arts district or a relatively stable neighborhood. The land must be within a mile of a downtown business district or other employment center with 100,000 jobs. Post also requires substantial infrastructure investment on the part of the city. This helps to offset the higher costs of creating a quality streetscape and public realm, according to Steven Meeks, director of new markets for Post West. Post is not deterred by zoning codes which forbid the short setbacks required to create an enclosed street. In Phoenix, the company worked with the city to create an appropriate urban code to allow the project to go forward. In addition to inner city projects, Post also likes to develop in “edge cities,” which are characterized by large suburban office buildings, malls, pricey single-use subdivisions and apartment projects. In that environment, Post West builds high-density urbanism, with a similar housing/retail mix and design as their downtown developments. This formula is successfully being used in two projects near Dallas — Addison Circle and The Shores. Post West now plans to build its brand of New Urbanism on the West Coast, and is examining metropolitan areas from San Diego to Seattle.