Car-free developments should be prime for in-fill projects. I expect to see this more in our future as land becomes more expensive/hard to find and upcoming generations decide to be less car dependent.
QuoteThough sometimes challenging to build, car-free developments gaining traction in historically car-dependent cities
While not unusual in dense urban metropolises like New York or in Europe, residential developments that don't include any parking are gaining early momentum in historically car-dependent cities.
In Tempe, Arizona, for example, developer Culdesac Inc. is bringing to market later this year a 17-acre car-free development. With a recent $30 million Series A raise, the company is now looking to bring that concept to other metro areas.
And in Charlotte, North Carolina, a local developer, Grubb Properties Inc., will in the coming months break ground on a 104-unit apartment development about a mile outside of the city's central business district. It'll include only a handful of parking spaces, reserved for guests.
Both Tempe and Charlotte offer some amount of transit and multimodal transportation, but aren't exactly known for car-free lifestyles, either. But developers in the space say having access to multiple means of getting around are important to making car-free development work.
"Tempe is the most bike-friendly city in America, it has an up-and-coming streetcar and light-rail system," said Lava Sunder, general manager of Culdesac Tempe. "That's important to us for a variety of reasons."
In west Charlotte, Grubb selected the site it'll soon develop its car-free development because of its access to a greenway system that links to that city's uptown, and a new streetcar line in walking distance. The site is also in an Opportunity Zone, which means Grubb can leverage its OZ impact dollars into the forthcoming project, to keep rents below market rate.
"We really felt like it was a great spot to create more density and, in turn, that density allowed us to set aside half the units for affordable housing," said Eric Applefield, director of development at Grubb.....
.....Reasons for developing car-free projects can range. At Culdesac Tempe, Sunder said the developer can reallocate space that's typically used for parking to adding spaces like parks, plazas, wide promenades and courtyards. More than 50% of the project is open space, she said.
Grubb Properties is committing to below-market-rate units at its project with its OZ equity funding and the elimination of parking. Half the units will lease at rates that are affordable for households earning 80% of the area median income.
Applefield said parking in a new project in Charlotte can cost $15,000 to $40,000 per space. Assuming it would cost $20,000 per space to build parking at its west Charlotte project, for 104 units, that's savings of more than $2 million.
Finding the right site and a government body's comfort level with no or reduced parking are key to getting car-free projects across the finish line and built, Applefield said.
"This is a really good model for creating those units with less cost," Applefield said. "We think it could be replicated in other locations where you do have that nexus with greenway, transit and close proximity to a business district."
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