The presentation at the recent MDRN Symposium featuring the Eastwood Development in Evantson, Il - dramatically illustrated a suburban downtown development story - and struggle with both height and density -- that has played out many times in recent years.The pictures below show the design (front) and density (back) trade-offs of each proposed development.
The five story condominium proposal was originally designed in 2007 at the peak of the real estate market, this proposed version had extensive architectural detail, and articulated mansard rooflines.
By late mid-2008 the development was rescaled into a 4 story condominum, losing many of its design details to adjust to the height restrictiona and changing housing market:
Presently, the Eastwood development has further adjusted the design enhancements to fit the current market as a 4-story mixed use structure.
As the speaker noted, economic timing is critical for new development and the review process must be efficient to support quality design. In this instance a welcome economic improvemnt will, hopefully, be accomplished -- but with the loss of attractive architectural details that became unaffordable as the process became extended. This LEED silver certified development will be made possible through the collarboration of Dodge Capital and OKW Architects, groundbreaking to begin in the coming months.
This Evanston case study and speaker slides really dramatized the balancing of density, design and development in recent years! The photos show the tradeoffs when projects get delayed by prolonged process.
ReplyDeleteJohn,
ReplyDeleteI liked the flow of the blog. And I like the opportunity to give comments.
Jim