[RP TownTalk] "Rethink College Park" post on the Cafritz design principles

[Dwight Holmes]

Chris Ellepola posted this summation of the "design principles"
presented by the Cafritz team last week to the rethinkcollegepark.net
blog.  As of right now, there's still no update at the Cafritz
property's website. Thanks to Chris for this reporting... I'm really
sorry we didn't get to either of the meetings.

Overall, sounds like some smart thinking to me...  Obviously there are
big traffic implications for Riverdale Park (overpass over the tracks;
streets opened up into Town Center)...  just means we need to be smart
too!

+++
Cafritz Design Principles

http://rethinkcollegepark.net/blog/2007/435/

By Chris Ellepola
Wednesday, August 1st, 2007

Round three of Cafritz Property development public meetings took place
last week where design principles were publicized. These principles
will be used to draft concept plans. The completed concept plans will
be presented in a fourth round of public meetings in September before
the Cafritz's apply for rezoning. Identical meetings for the concept
plans will be SATURDAY, September 15th (10am-12pm), and TUESDAY,
September 18th (7-9pm).

Here is a representative list of the design principles…

Transportation & Connections - No vehicle connection to Calvert Hills,
but instead pedestrian and bike connection is possible. Connect to
Riverdale Town Center with streets, paths and trails, and connect to
the existing surrounding trail system overall. Buffer sidewalks with
trees and lamp posts. Connect for cars, bikes, and/or pedestrians over
the CSX tracks to River Road. Make a Rt.1 intersection with no
University Park access to discourage cut-through traffic in UP.

Organize streets in a grid pattern with parallel parking. Implement
"right-size" parking that at most meets but does not exceed zone
requirements; get a variance for that if necessary.

Business & Retail - The retail broker on the development team reports
that there are no negotiations between East Campus and Whole Foods.
This further strengthens the possibility of the grocer being on the
Cafritz Property. Images of short retail fronted by wide recreational
and pedestrian areas were posted as representative of what the
developer has in mind.

Placemaking - Locate tall buildings (4-8 stories) in the south-center
of site, and stagger shorter buildings from there to the sides. Back
parking garages against the post office buildings to the south to
minimize their presence. Make a main public green on Rt. 1 that sets
back about 156′ and retains natural topography and trees. Scatter
other green areas throughout. Place public art throughout.

Livability - Make residential primarily home-owned rather than rented.
Minimize single-story retail by building residential above
ground-level retail.

Environment - A pilot LEED rating system called LEED for Neighborhood
Development (LEED ND) is being pursued. The pilot rating system
integrates the principles of smart growth, urbanism, and green
building into the first national standard for neighborhood design. The
Cafritz Property is not part of the pilot program but is pursuing LEED
ND nonetheless with help from a consulting firm hired for that
specific purpose.

The future of the WMATA site bordering the north of the property is
still very up in the air. This is probably why the pedestrian/biker
connection to Calvert Hills was only identified as a possibility at
this point.

We are happy to report that the development team addressed their
reasoning for mixed-use development over other possibilities. This was
something that was not done in previous meetings, as discussed in a
previous article. **Check back soon for a more in-depth discussion
about this.**

Posted in Cafritz Property | Wednesday, August 1st, 2007 | Trackback


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