Pioneering Transit Oriented Development (TOD) in EdmontonLessons Learned for Successful TOD Development

Marcelo FigueiraAssociate, ParioPlanAPPI Conference 2011October 18, 2011Red Deer, AB

Who Are We?

ParioPlan Inc. award-winning consulting in design and development of urban infill sites

Interdisciplinary Efforts

Feature Projects

Feature Projects Century Park Station Pointe Strathearn

Heights Glenora

Skylights Regency East

Lessons Learned

TOD Ready

Designing walkable neighbourhoods around a community core with appropriate scale and density, while providing great places and quality public space, can meet several sustainability goals and assure a city’s future transit-readiness

Century Park – Unique Opportunity To develop a higher density mixed use urban village adjacent to a LRT station

Century Park – Existing Conditions

Greyfield redevelopment of the Heritage Mall Site (17.41 ha)

Century Park – LRT Station and Transit Centre

Century Park – Complete Community

Direct Control DC2(742) - February 2009

Area A - residential, commercial and office mixed use development including low, mid, and high rise apartments and row housing and an amenity centre

Area B - row housing, low, mid, and high rise apartment buildings

Area C - street-oriented, low scale commercial buildings

Century Park – Breaking the Grid

Century Park – Promoting Walkability

Century Park – Benefits

Public Art – developers commitment to contribute $0.60 a sq ft to public art

Mix of Land Uses – residential/commercial/ retail uses

High Quality Design – Slim towers allow for increased ground level open space, create visual interest and reduce bulk of buildings.

Streetscapes – active residential and commercial frontages.

Gridded Street Network – provides direct movement within the site.

Open Spaces –approximately half of the site (8.9 ha) will be maintained for open space.

Development uses existing infrastructure and developer pays for upgrades

Century Park

Station Pointe – Existing Conditions

The Plan area is located entirely within 400 to 800 metres (a 5 to 10 minute walking distance) of the Belvedere LRT Station, transforming an aging “brownfield” industrial area into a vibrant transit oriented, mixed use urban village.

Urban Design Plan area

Belvedere ARP Boundary

Urban Design Plan, Amendment to the Belvedere ARP and seven Direct Control DC1 – September 2007

Station Pointe – Design Concept

Key design features defined by three prominent public areas: a village square, a revitalized Fort Road and a multi-use trail corridor

Station Pointe – Village Square

A village square, located at the centre of the Urban Design Plan area, will serve as a focal point and landmark for residents and visitors

Station Pointe – Revitalized Fort Road

Station Pointe – Multi-use Trail Corridor

A series of small open spaces, grassed berms, ornamental planting beds, landscaped buffers and shrub beds were incorporated into a cohesive linear park system along the site’s eastern edge

A total of 1.27 hectares (3.14 acres) has been provided for parks and open space

Station Pointe – Multi-use Trail Corridor

A landscaped multi-use trail for walkers, joggers and cyclists will extend from 66 Street to the Belvedere LRT Station

Station Pointe – Design Features A variety of building

forms includes row houses, and low, mid and high-rise apartments

Residential and mixed-use buildings have been oriented to reinforce the street, parks and open spaces.

Shallow setbacks and active retail and residential frontages provide ‘eyes on the street’ to create a safe environment

Station Pointe – Benefits Master planning and

high quality architectural and public space design are vital for the Urban Design Plan area

Streetscape environment establishes a heightened sense of place.

Mid-block mews, plazas and small playground areas create opportunities for casual social interaction while promoting safety in the area

Commitment to public art - sculpture, murals, bas-reliefs and graphics

Strathearn Heights

Strathearn Heights Redevelopment Site

Edmonton Downtown

North Saskatchewan River

Silver LEED for Neighbourhood Development (LEED-ND) Stage 2

An Urban Village – a sustainable, open, and affordable community

Strathearn Heights – Existing Conditions

Strathearn Heights – Complete Community

Direct Control DC2(716) - February 2008Area A - row housing and stacked row

housing

Area B - row housing, mid and high rise apartment housing

Area C - row housing and stacked row housing

Area D - residential and commercial mixed-use development including row housing, stacked row housing, mid and high rise apartment housing, live/work units, and a clubhouse/ amenity centre

Maximum of 1,750 Dwelling units, where 5% (88 units) proposed to be sold to Habitat at 85% of market and 62 units to be sold at market value

Maximum 3.4 Floor Area Ratio for the entire site Maximum of 3,716 square metres of complementary small-scale commercial

development 1.25 ha of public parkland

Enhanced Open Space + Connectivity

Context

Garden Squares and Park Blocks

garden squares

park blocks

Public Art and Public Park Enhancements

public art site art $500,000 art gallery of alberta $250,000

public parks garden squares $300,000 new neighbourhood park $450,000

$1,500,000

2.5 – 3 storey edgeretail at grade

live - work

4 – 6 – 8 storey mid-riseslim high-rise

Building Form

Future Strathearn Southeast LRT Station

Future Strathearn Southeast LRT Station

Strathearn Heights - Benefits

Mixed-use, urban village concept Variety of open spaces and site

amenities Pedestrian facilities and

connections throughout the development

Variety of housing forms Quality of design and architectural

treatment Underground parking Location and scale of commercial

uses; Transition in scale between

development on site and the surrounding properties

Retention of mature boulevard trees and the addition of other landscaping.

Urban Village - Space, Safety, Comfort, and Community

Meeting Housing Demand While Balancing Living Standards, Environmental Impacts and Market Conditions

Individuals, Families And Businesses Have Different Needs And Bring Different Aspirations To The Community

Glenora Skyline – Existing Conditions

Glenora Skyline – Sensitive Infill Development

Direct Control DC2(715) - January 2008 Maximum 2.75 Floor Area Ratio

for the site Maximum of 270 Dwellings (169

dwelling units per hectare) 50 row house units with “doors

on the street’ along the edges of 142 Street, 103 Avenue and 102 Avenue

Glenora Skyline - Single Harmonious Architectural Theme

Glenora Skyline – Design Concept

A comprehensive mixed-use redevelopment located on 4.1 acres at the corner of 142 Street and Stony Plain Road

Low, medium and high-rise residential uses are complimented by commercial and park / open space uses

Glenora Skyline - Sun-Shadow and Rooftop Design

Glenora Skyline – Design Features

Buildings designed with detail and articulation at street level. Retail and residential land uses will wrap around the building to create an attractive streetscape

Stepped-back podium provides a human-scaled environment along streets within, and around, the development

Thin towers with floor plates less than 500m2 at mid-tower zone to allow for increased ground level open space and narrower shadows

Sculpted tower tops create visual interest and reduce the bulk of the buildings where they are most noticeable

Future Glenora West LRT Station

Future Glenora West LRT Station

Glenora Skyline - Benefits

Pedestrian ”mews” and connections encourage walking to and from surrounding areas to access commercial services and transit

Extensive underground parking allows a portion of the site (0.4 ha) to be maintained for plazas and open space

$500,000 contribution for public art to be incorporated within the public spaces

Stadium (NE) LRT Station

Regency East – Opportunity

Opportunity to advance a transit-oriented development by taking advantage of its proximity to the Stadium LRT Station

A combination of increased residential densities, mixed use, design excellence, and improved connectivity create a self sustaining community will be catalyst to implement the Stadium Station TOD Plan

Design excellence applied to building form enhances visual composition of streets and skyline

Human scale design applied to building frontages augment pedestrian experiences and provide passive surveillance.

Improve the public realm through strategically placed artwork and urban design features

Regency East – TOD Principles

Regency East – Design Concept

slim high-rise towers set back on mid- and low-rise podiums

articulated architecture with active frontages

community art gallery

central plaza

Regency East – Design Concept

Direct Control DC2(752) - September 2009 Floor Area Ratio: 8.0

Building Height: 29, 32, 35 storeys

Maximum of 1,000 Dwellings Row housing, work/live, Low-,

mid-, and high-rise apartments 850 m2 (9,149 ft2 ) of indoor

communal amenity areas 1,250 m2 (13,455 ft2 ) of

outdoor communal amenity areas

Underground parking 12,000 m2 (129,167 ft 2) of

neighbourhood retail

Regency East – Flexible Site Plan

Towers can be relocated to adjust new roadway and walkway paths to, from and through the site

The central plaza and the gallery can be relocated, but their minimum size must be maintained

Parking can be reduced and redesigned, but the number of access and egress point must be maintained

Building footprint, articulation and location of active residential and commercial frontages can be redesigned and relocated to address new roadway and walkway patterns

Regency East – Active Frontages

Regency East – Community Gallery

Regency East – Mixed-use

Regency East – Central Plaza

The central plaza will provide a family-oriented amenity space, and the community art gallery and ground level active retail frontages will create a focal point for residents and the public

Regency East – Central PlazaHow Often Do Cities Accommodate Children And Seniors When It Comes To Urban Design?

Regency East – Benefits

Public art provision will be implemented through two opportunities - $100,000 for purchased art and $815,000 towards structural art.

$681,000 will be allocated to off-site public amenities and infrastructure, which will support implementation of the Stadium Station TOD Plan

Public accessibility and pedestrian connections

Sustainable design strategies equivalent to a Silver LEED standard

Lessons Learned Be visionary, challenge the status quo

Seize the opportunity to build a place, not a project

Think density, not crowd

Bundle and mix uses considering space, safety, comfort and community

Respect market-driven forces, but be flexible with unforeseen trends

Encourage active transportation

Build on local features to market the lifestyle

Be ready for implementation, yet be bold