|
 |
 |
A
common street space provides a focal area connecting to transit. |
By G.B. Arrington and James Hencke
The Portland, Oregon Metropolitan Region claims the most aggressive Transit
Oriented Development (TOD) program in the U.S. Although Portland’s approach
to TOD has evolved over the past 30 years, nearly every one of the region’s
light rail (LRT) stops has witnessed TOD development activity.
Conversely, its transit design and development strategies have evolved to reflect the region’s growing interest in using transit as a community building tool. The result is that today, transit and TOD planning are inextricably linked.
TOD has become one of the primary policy and implementation tools that the state, the region, and local governments regularly call on to help maintain a compact urban form, reduce automobile dependence and support reinvestment in centers and corridors.
The Center Commons Story
Center Commons is a mixed-use, primarily residential community located five
miles east of downtown Portland, Oregon. It is notable within the region because
it has strived to develop mixed-income and for-sale housing on a single compact
site, enabling residents to gain access to greater employment opportunities
and afford more housing due to lower transportation costs.
The project reflects a conscious effort by public agencies to do TOD infill along a freeway section and was pioneering in that it introduced mixed-use infill to a neighborhood with no recent precedent for such activity.
The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) owned the 4.9-acre parcel, but had ceased operations in the early 1990s. The parcel contained a vacant one-story office building and a large surface parking lot. Planning began in 1994 and the project was completed in 2001. The site required environmental remediation that included removing surface soil contamination and asbestos along with recycling an old concrete building. The developer paid for the remediation, with help from the previous owner.
Center Commons consists of four separate buildings, each serving a different clientele. Three are affordable apartment buildings — a 60-unit building for lower-income families (also housing a day care center), a 172-unit senior residence and a 56-unit modified-market rate building with ground-floor retail. The other building has 26 market-rate townhomes.
The largest buildings edge the property facing the freeway and an off-ramp. The design creates a sense of modest density within the core while the largest buildings on the edge form a “town wall” that acts as a sound and visual buffer.
A common street space provides a focal area congregating cars, pedestrians, a playground, landscaping, parking, drop-off zones and generous walkways connecting to transit. The three-level townhouses include many amenities such as metal decks, patios and single-car garages. Setting some buildings back from the street preserved mature oak trees.
The Development’s New Residents
The lease-up for the market rate apartments happened quickly and experienced
no problems. Initial lease-up of senior-designated apartments was slow, as many
indicated that they dislike living in proximity to families with children. Senior
turnover has been high, and non-seniors are now filling these units (as allowed
in the development agreement). This could exacerbate parking problems because
as the project includes fewer seniors, the assumed parking ratios will not match
demand.
The 26 townhomes took longer to sell. Although they are high quality and relatively
inexpensive compared to other city townhouse/condo locations, there were some
challenges:
Transit Results
Analysis of residents “before and after” travel behavior found that
transit mode share increased nearly 50 percent for work trips and by 60 percent
for non-work trips. Top reasons cited by residents for moving to the project
are new buildings, nice designs and proximity to transit.
Parking in and around the project did present challenges, but an aggressive ratio of 0.6 spaces per unit was justified by the high proportion of senior units and the proximity to transit. A survey found that almost 30 percent of respondents own fewer cars now than they did at their previous residence.
In hindsight, financially the project may have tried to accomplish too much on a small site, but in the end, the community has a well performing, well-designed mixed-income TOD.
G.B. Arrington is principal practice leader and James Hencke is senior urban designer at PB PlaceMaking in Portland.