- Site planning. Each team received a kit of pieces — housing, open space, parking, etc. — it had one hour to put together into a plan that would meet local zoning and other ordinances.
- Dwelling design. This provided an opportunity to orient design to households with various lifestyles, such as two to three generations living together or people who are working out of their homes.
- Image and character. This gathered input on what the place was supposed to look like.
These groups gradually reach a consensus, said Pyatok, and the projects are then typically well received by the general public.
Built on the site of an abandoned supermarket that was being used as a flea market, Hismen Hin-Nu Terrace was loaded in the front with flats for small households, at a density of 75-80 units an acre, with townhouses built over parking in protected rear courtyards, at a density of 35 units to the acre, for larger families.
“Parking requirements were the Achilles heal of the project, forcing townhomes up off the ground,” said Pyatok. “Even though we got a 15% reduction in the parking that was required, it was still bloated.”
The project also contains a 2,000-square-foot childcare center, a community hall and front office, a market hall and store front retail. Small vendor stalls were created along the building, he said, but they only lasted about a year because there was not enough pedestrian traffic to support them.
Josh Simon, director of real estate development for the East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation in Oakland, who worked with Pyatok on Hismen Hin-Nu Terrace, discussed their collaboration on Swan’s Marketplace, which restored a dilapidated historic structure with 18 affordable housing units, 20 cohousing loft units, a food market hall, restaurants, street-oriented retail, live/work space, commercial office space and space for the Museum of Children’s Art.
“Politics are a big piece of community building when a non-profit asks for a large amount of public subsidy,” said Simon, and by organizing the support of neighbors for housing and new retail the project was able to transform what had become “a dreadful area for drugs and crime.”
“Retail needs a more flexible consensus that can be adapted quickly” to changing needs, said Simon, so two separate partnerships were created to own the housing and retail parts of the project.
Ongoing community management is also a major concern, he indicated. “The way a building looks in five to 10 years depends on the sustainability of that effort and long-term problem solving.”
Parcels of the development were separated so that they could be eligible for different grants, he said, and about 20 sources of funds were used to complete the project.
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