"Casting" Directors for Successful Mixed-Use Neighborhoods

Creating the right sense of place is no easy task. Yet with the increasing popularity of New Urbanist (NU) and Traditional Neighborhood Design (TND) communities, the demand for expertise in retail and entertainment planning is beginning to grow. That's why LeylandAlliance, a pioneering TND developer, formed the affiliate Live Work Learn Play (LWLP), a cutting-edge mixed-use real estate development and consulting firm.

Bill Green and Max Reim are principals at the young company. Their commercial leasing and management talents are evident in such celebrated villages as Whistler-Blackcomb, British Columbia and Squaw Valley, California. LWLP provides LeylandAlliance and other third party developers with master planning and "animation" consulting to ensure a vibrant mixed-use community.

"Much of the attention in New Urbanist communities has been focused upon the residential component and somewhat less on the commercial component," says LWLP's Green. Builders are now starting to take a more deliberate approach to retail, he believes.

LWLP distinguishes itself from traditional commercial leasing agents through a targeted leasing and casting process that identifies "who will help us create a sense of place in a particular community."

According to Green, LWLP first asks the builder questions that may not have been considered, such as "who goes when, seeking what experience?" he says. The company also uses a theoretical 24-hour clock to survey the needs of people who are intended to live there. He wonders "What kinds of things do they feel like doing after they get home?" LWLP also performs a detailed site and space analysis, such as designating a sun-filled street corner unit as a patio-friendly restaurant. The company's exacting model even recommends which type of restaurant should be established—right down to sample menus—before the search begins.

LWLP strives to cast its retail villages with 80 to 85 percent mom and pop-oriented companies. To achieve this, LWLP learns the history of a place and finds what they call "the great operators" in the area to contact as potential tenants.

"We want every place to be unique," he says, "we're sort of anti-homogeneity, if you will." LWLP then uses its expertise in leasing negotiations, providing the developer with a competitive advantage—and one less distraction.

Live Work Learn Play is currently working with LeylandAlliance to lead the master planning and casting for Storrs Center, a new mixed-use residential and commercial village in Mansfield, Connecticut. The project is adjacent to the University of Connecticut.

Green feels the future is bright for TND and New Urbanist-style neighborhoods, especially as the industry begins to understand "how quickly these communities work." He advises builders to embark on a "broad education of the potential buyers" about what New Urbanism is, and the sense of community that results. Developers who create awareness of a better lifestyle will reap the benefits of strong demand.

Visit Live Work Learn Play online at: http://www.liveworklearnplay.com

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