Large scale TNDs proposed by universities

Mixed-use research and academic communities in the form of traditional neighborhood developments (TNDs) are among the latest design challenges facing new urbanists. Universities historically have employed great urban design on campus, and some of the most pedestrian-friendly and lively places in the US today are college towns. Yet little new urbanist planning and development has taken place connected to universities. This may change with plans currently in the works. The largest is the 979-acre Horace Williams property proposed for development by the University of North Carolina (UNC) in Chapel Hill. Only 1.5 miles from UNC, the site is designed to be connected to the main campus by a dedicated bus line running alongside a little-used freight rail corridor. In Silicon Valley, California, a new urbanist plan has been created for an academic/research community to be developed adjacent to the Ames Research Center, a primary testing site for NASA technology. The 220-acre plan was commissioned by Carnegie Mellon University, which was invited by NASA to set up a western campus. The UNC and Carnegie Mellon plans were designed by Dhiru Thadani and Ayers/Saint/Gross of Baltimore, a firm specializing in new urbanist campus plans. During the last 50 years, most college and university campuses have been suburban in nature and accessible primarily by automobile. To date, the only new urbanist development that comes close to resembling a “college town” is Abacoa in Jupiter, Florida. A new, 2,500-student campus of Florida Atlantic University is located adjacent to Abacoa’s mixed-use town center. A handful of smaller, infill projects are located in close proximity to universities, including Dan Camp’s Cotton District in Starkville, Mississippi, and Aggie Village, designed by Calthorpe Associates, in Davis, California. Sites near universities offer opportunities for new urbanists, according to Thadani. Academic institutions create a demand for residential units, goods, and services. “A large student population can support a lot of retail, restaurants, and bars, plus they need housing,” he explains. “You can build upon that very easily to make a town.” However, there are distinctions between new urbanist design and the way that academic institutions have been planned historically. “One very obvious difference is that campuses tend to keep the auto out of the center — it is a very exclusive pedestrian environment,” Thadani says. “With the New Urbanism, you want the town center to have a combination of automobiles and pedestrians” to create a more vibrant environment and support retail. The solution is to emulate college towns like Princeton, New Jersey, and Chapel Hill where the heart of the campus is for pedestrians only, but bordered on one edge by a town center with automobiles. “An open face to the commercial street is wonderful, because you get the best of both worlds in juxtaposition,” Thadani says. UNC plan Only 30 percent of the Horace Williams site — 295 acres — is proposed for development into roads and buildings. Most of the site is slated to remain in open space. A small, existing airport will remain on the site, as well. Development is planned in the form of high-density neighborhoods, town centers, and research districts. Proposed are 5.8 million square feet of labs, offices, and other institutional space; 1,900 residential units for employees, graduate students, and researchers; 120,000 square feet of retail; and 31,000 square feet of civic buildings. That’s room for up to 3,000 residents and 25,000 workers. The plan organizes the streets and blocks to create a hierarchy of public spaces. The heart of the plan is a crescent-shaped town square, rimmed by mixed-use, four-story buildings. All street sections are modeled on historic neighborhoods in Chapel Hill. UNC owns the land, but needs a zoning change in order to develop the Horace Williams plan. Adam Gross, one of the project’s architects, is optimistic about the chances for approval. A previous plan included the same square footage as the current one, but consumed an additional 200 acres. Thus the higher density is an asset, not a liability, he says. The university is debating whether to solicit an outside developer or set up its own real estate foundation. Silicon Valley TND The 220-acre Carnegie Mellon West plan in Mountain View calls for a total of 3.1 million square feet of buildings. This includes 2 million square feet of light industrial and academic buildings, 650 housing units for students and faculty, a conference center, hotels, shops, recreational facilities, and entertainment venues. The physical layout is designed to facilitate the movement of ideas between research labs, classrooms, and businesses. Civic sites and coffee bars, restaurants, shops, housing, hotels, and conference facilities will be shared by residents and workers. The Carnegie Mellon campus will be located within the 2,000 acres of Moffett Field, which is where the Ames Research Center is located in the heart of Silicon Valley. Moffett Field is adjacent to Interstate 101, which both defines the southern boundary and provides vehicular access to the site. An existing light rail station is located on the southeast corner of the site. Adjacent to the station will be a public square forming the entrance to the community. The plan proposes museums, including an Air and Space Museum, a Computer History Museum and a Women in Technology Museum. All are within walking distance of the rail station. In the center of the development a rectangular green is proposed, defined by academic buildings, a conference center, and a library. Multifamily housing units are proposed on the western part of the site adjacent to existing housing. Research buildings for industry partners serviced by structured parking decks are proposed along the southern boundary, so that they may be visible from Interstate 101. A series of small greens and civic spaces provide a transition from the industrial to academic buildings. The Carnegie Mellon West plan is currently under review by NASA.
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