A National Town Builders Association (NTBA) is being

A National Town Builders Association (NTBA) is being formed in Washington, D.C. The NTBA is a project initiated by Neil Takemoto of World Idea Networks and has the backing of town planner Andres Duany. Takemoto has set dues as $3,500 for developers and $1,000 for developer consultants. One of the benefits for developers will be membership in the National Sales Center, a referral hub for home sales in neotraditional/new urbanist projects. The annual dues will be used as a credit towards payment of the 0.6 percent sales commission. “A Remax Realtor has committed to run the National Sales Center,” says Takemoto. Takemoto also plans to set up the NTBA as a center for neotraditional investments, planner/architect referrals, financial/market/sales data, and industry standardization. The NTBA will be targeted directly at the needs of new urban/neotraditional developers, much as the Urban Land Institute serves mainstream developers. The organization will operate as a nonprofit, with a board of directors yet to be named. No executive director has been selected. Takemoto is seeking to enlist 10 pilot NTBA members. Contact: NTBA, (202) 518-2800. Another nascent organization that may have a future affiliation with the NTBA is the Town Founders Council, which would be comprised of developers of towns planned by Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company. Proposals recently were sent to developers to see how many may be interested.