QuoteRails to Real Estate: Development Patterns Along Three New Transit Lines
CTOD studies what works in transit-oriented development
The Center for Transit-Oriented Development has released a report that examines real estate development patterns along three recently built light rail lines. The findings of Rails to Real Estate: Development Patterns along Three New Transit Lines should help local planners and others considering new transit lines to maximize the benefits of new transit investments and foster transit-oriented development.
The three transit lines are the Hiawatha Line in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region in Minnesota, the Southeast Corridor in the Denver region in Colorado, and the Blue Line in the Charlotte region in North Carolina.
The analysis considers development patterns with regard to a number of factors, including proximity to downtowns and major employment centers, the location and extent of vacant or “underutilized†property suitable for development or redevelopment, block patterns that influence “walkability,†transit connectivity and household incomes.
“Setting realistic expectations about the scale, timing and location of private investment along new transit lines is especially critical where new development is expected to help pay for needed transit improvements, neighborhood amenities, or other community benefits,†said Nadine Fogarty, principal with Strategic Economics and primary author of the report.
All three transit lines experienced a tremendous amount of new development. Charlotte’s Blue Line had the most development, with approximately 9.8 million square feet of new space between 2005 and 2009.
The study found proximity to existing employment centers and downtowns to be important factors driving development along transit lines. While transit improvements were a factor, the impetus for development was more strongly related to longer-term efforts to revitalize the center cities, as well as shifting market demand that favors central locations with urban amenities, shopping and entertainment.
All three corridors offer significant areas of development opportunity that represent unmet potential for TOD, according to the study. But investments in neighborhood infrastructure and amenities are critical for unlocking the potential for TOD, especially in areas where land use patterns were previously automobile dependent.
“This study marks an important step in understanding the impact of transit investments in three regions, and the implications for other communities looking to transit investments as a source of long-term economic prosperity and competitiveness. We need to make transit investments that unlock the potential for TOD, but we need to make them in the right places,†said Sam Zimbabwe, Director of the Center for Transit-Oriented Development.
The findings of this report have implications for value capture strategies that attempt to harness property value increases near transit to help offset the costs of transit investments, or to help finance other needed improvements along transit corridors. Due to the uneven nature of development patterns near transit and the need for strategic investments, the study suggests a corridor-level approach to value capture may be very useful because value created in a strong market locations can help fund needed improvements and enable development elsewhere in the corridor.
Rails to Real Estate was prepared by the Center for Transit-Oriented Development, the only national nonprofit effort dedicated to providing best practices, research and tools to support equitable market-based development in pedestrian-friendly communities near public transportation. CTOD is a partnership of two national nonprofit organizations â€" Reconnecting America and the Center for Neighborhood Technology â€" and a research and consulting firm, Strategic Economics. CTOD works at the intersection of transportation planning, regional planning, climate change and sustainability, affordability, economic development, real estate and investment. CTOD's goal is to help create neighborhoods where young and old, rich and poor, can live comfortably and prosper, with affordable and healthy lifestyle choices and ample and easy access to opportunity for all. For more information, visit www.ctod.org
http://www.reconnectingamerica.org/
Charlotte got Orlando's money for its light rail.
Why do Floridians continue to send growth ( urban transit related development) to other states?
Charlotte got money in the FTA pot dedicated to urban mass transit, and yes, some of that MIGHT have gone to Orlando had they pushed ahead with their own Light Rail Project. Sunrail might also have become a recipient of monies for mass-transit. In no way however, was the HSR money coming out of the FRA, diverted to someones urban transit system. FRA or FTA, two different animals who by the way, often take swipes at each other.
OCKLAWAHA
Ock...Orlando was in the FTA pipeline for light rail funding in 1998....when the Orange County Commission voted 3-2 not to support the project, Lynx removed their application....a few weeks later, almost the exact amount of money that Orlando had been requesting from FTA was given to Charlotte.
So, yes, Charlotte's first light rail line was likely funded with money that was headed to Orlando!
and Orlando has been kicking themselves ever since that fatal decision was made in the late 1990s. Unfortunately, all the hard work and planning they've been doing over the last decade is currently being undone and ripped to shreads by the new guy in Tallahassee.
Gee fella's............the new guy down Tallahassee way has put his hoof down and said no way to HSR down Ratville way! He also has said nothing about enhancing rail in any shape fashion or form in the Sunshine State! I am not really sure he can spell Rail much less discuss the issue!
Quote from: CS Foltz on March 24, 2011, 04:39:25 PM
Gee fella's............the new guy down Tallahassee way has put his hoof down and said no way to HSR down Ratville way! He also has said nothing about enhancing rail in any shape fashion or form in the Sunshine State! I am not really sure he can spell Rail much less discuss the issue!
Yup, and now that anti-rail is a firm plank in the Republican platform, you can wave rail goodbye indefinitely in Florida, unless we collectivel WAKE UP!!
Quote from: tufsu1 on March 24, 2011, 02:55:29 PM
So, yes, Charlotte's first light rail line was likely funded with money that was headed to Orlando!
I believe that is what I said TU, it came from the FTA mass transit funding, my point being it DID NOT come out of HSR funds. Might of, could have, should have, never filled a seat, fact is Orlando walked away from a home run which in turn was scored by Charlotte. Quote from: FayeforCure on March 24, 2011, 06:20:20 PM
Quote from: CS Foltz on March 24, 2011, 04:39:25 PM
Gee fella's............the new guy down Tallahassee way has put his hoof down and said no way to HSR down Ratville way! He also has said nothing about enhancing rail in any shape fashion or form in the Sunshine State! I am not really sure he can spell Rail much less discuss the issue!
Yup, and now that anti-rail is a firm plank in the Republican platform, you can wave rail goodbye indefinitely in Florida, unless we collectivel WAKE UP!!
Read it for yourselves and decide, THIS IS THE PLATFORM STATEMENT which Faye says is a firm anti-rail plank. Seems to me at worst, rail is invisible to the RNC, otherwise I see nothing anti-rail in the following: QuoteRestoring Our Infrastructure
The American people can have safer roads and bridges, better airports and more efficient harbors, as long as we straighten out the government’s spending priorities. The politics of pork distorts the allocation of resources for modernizing the nation’s infrastructure. That can leave entire communities vulnerable to natural disasters and deprive others of the improvements necessary for economic growth and job creation. We pledge a business-like, cost-effective approach for infrastructure spending, always mindful of the special needs of both rural and urban communities.
We support a level of investment in the nation’s transportation system that will promote a healthy economy, sustain jobs, and keep America globally competitive. We need to improve the system’s performance and capacity to deal with congestion, move a massive amount of freight, reduce traffic fatalities, and ensure mobility across both rural and urban areas. We urgently need to preserve the highway, transit, and air facilities built over the last century so they can serve generations to come. At the same time, we are committed to minimizing transportation’s impact on climate change, our local environments, and the nation’s energy use. Careful reforms of environmental reviews and the permitting process should speed projects to completion.
Safeguarding our transportation infrastructure is critical to our homeland security. An integrated, flexible system â€" developed and sustained in partnership between state and local governments and the federal government â€" must also share responsibilities with the private sector. We call for more prudent stewardship of the nation’s Highway Trust Fund to restore the program’s purchasing power and ensure that it will meet the changing needs of a mobile nation.
http://www.gop.com/2008Platform/GovernmentReform.htm
OCKLAWAHA
Here's a rough equal in the Democratic Party Platform, while it is much more clear on goals, and actually promotes rail rather then a generic "transportation system", in practice, until President Obama came to the White House, neither party had done squat for passenger rail. Out of all presidents, 2 Republican (Nixon and Ford) supported Amtrak, and 1 Democrat (Obama)... So am I saying the old Hippie is a closet Republican? Not a bit, it's just that the old hippie didn't trust "The Man" then, and he doesn't trust "The Man" now! Quote
Encourage open space and rail travel
We want to transform sprawl into growth. We support tax credits to build more livable communities. We should acquire lands for forests and recreation sites and set aside wildlife preserves. We support the building of high-speed rail systems. High-speed rail reduces highway and airport congestion, improves air quality, stimulates the economy, and broadens the scope of personal choice for traveling between our communities. We support grants to Amtrak and the states for improving and rail routes.
Source: Democratic National Platform Aug 15, 2000
http://www.ontheissues.org/celeb/Democratic_Party_Environment.htm
OCKLAWAHA
Quote from: CS Foltz on March 24, 2011, 04:39:25 PM
Gee fella's............the new guy down Tallahassee way has put his hoof down and said no way to HSR down Ratville way! He also has said nothing about enhancing rail in any shape fashion or form in the Sunshine State! I am not really sure he can spell Rail much less discuss the issue!
but you were one who constantly criticized HSR..so did you now figure out that the Governor just gave away our chance at having decent intercity rail in Florida?
Quote from: tufsu1 on March 24, 2011, 09:09:16 PM
Quote from: CS Foltz on March 24, 2011, 04:39:25 PM
Gee fella's............the new guy down Tallahassee way has put his hoof down and said no way to HSR down Ratville way! He also has said nothing about enhancing rail in any shape fashion or form in the Sunshine State! I am not really sure he can spell Rail much less discuss the issue!
but you were one who constantly criticized HSR..so did you now figure out that the Governor just gave away our chance at having decent intercity rail in Florida?
The governor gave away our chance at a pre-determined national failure of High Speed Rail, he then turned and gave Miami a ton of money for new port infrastructure much of which is rail access related. Intercity Rail? The HSR plan wasn't going to be anything like a decent intercity rail network and I doubt we'd have ever seen it get beyond the Orlando Airport, and NOWHERE else in the rest of the country. I've seen the cutesy maps showing the "mainlines converging" from Orlando and Tampa and shooting north to... WTF? LAKE CITY? That entire product took about as much thought as going to Walmart for a magic marker. Even if HSR had by some quirk proved even close to it's projections at best, it wouldn't have done a damn thing for AMTRAK which is our REAL intercity railroad network, and stolen it's funds in this money short world at worst.
OCKLAWAHA
Ock...I know you hated the FL HSR plan, but you are delusional if you think this Governor has any interest in the expansion of passenger rail in Florida.
btw...I never said anything about a network....on its own, a connection between Tampa and orlando would qualify as intercity rail.
Let's just see what he does with Sun Rail.
I'm confused. How would the funds for Florida's canceled HSR project have stolen earmarked money for Amtrak? The stimulus money for HSR is a different pot of federal money from what goes to Amtrak. Nevertheless, if those funds are taking money from Amtrak they still are, Tampa/Orlando line or not. The money will now be going to other state's HSR projects.
In addition, the state money (a different funding pot from HSR) Scott is sending to dredge Miami's port isn't rail money. The funds going for port related rail improvements down there come from the Fed's Tiger Grant 2 stash (another funding source). If we can learn anything from Miami, taking advantage of multiple funding sources to get different components of an integrated transportation system up simultaneously, would be a great place to start.
If Scott didn't kill off the HSR plan, they would have had projects creating rail access to their port, a port tunnel for truck traffic, heavy rail, HSR, commuter rail extensions to their airport, an intermodal transportation center and port dredging underway and being completed at the same time. Here, we're still trying to figure out how to get funding for an office building at the JTC.