GlobeSt.com: Tell us about the “War on Asphalt” urban-redevelopment strategy and why it makes sense for Orange County.

Mindlin: It makes sense for a lot of markets—mostly, but not exclusively, core mature markets—where land is harder to find, the cost of land is going up and where rents are high enough to afford wrap or podium housing. That includes a lot of Orange County, L.A. and other major cities in the US, but also in some tertiary markets as well. It boils down to something not all that new, the ideas that are finding traction in the market today.

We started working on this in 2009 after the crash because a lot of shopping centers were struggling. There were lots of dark boxes, leases were going dark, tenancies were failing and owners realized that they were in an overbuilt industry and many had to right-size themselves.

In many respects, single use is not as profitable as mixed use can be. During the recession, you had an industry that was struggling and certain markets where available land was rare and expensive and where demand for a wide range of things was strong, like residential. But other institutions and university systems struggle with the same issue: how to grow and maintain your identity when you can only find 2 acres here and there. How do you grow your brand in a market that's tight and expensive? Residential and the retail REIT industry realize they have shared opportunities. Many clients are major national and successful REITs, and mixed use is something we really understand well. Retail shopping-center owners are finding that the answer to their problems doesn't involve more retail. The answer is to provide less retail and more value in doing so.

When it's required, right-sizing a shopping center is smart, but even when it's not required, the asphalt around a center has incredible potential value. It's nearly required, but it doesn't have a lot of inherent value. 27 Hundred will be right next to a major shopping center where people can avail themselves of shopping, dining and recreation within a two-minute walk in a market where you can afford to do podium residential development. That means surface parking, by and large, can remain there for the office worker. We can build under and over that surface parking. At 2700 Main, we're building under and over. The diversity of offering there is philosophically a wonderful thing. This change is driven as much by land value and the function of availability as it is by changing culture.

GlobeSt.com: In what other ways is density working its way into this market?

Mindlin: A wide range of people in Orange County are attracted to a more urbane environment in suburban settings. It's what Millennials and Boomers looking for, and it helps to attract and retain workforces. It creates demand for a different model. Market forces are driving us to be more creative, and they're driving the shopping-center industry to really rethink what its basic model is. You don't want to create a separate experience; you want to integrate and make strong connectivity to all the pieces by taking advantage of dormant access and transforming the shopping-center experience.

On one site we're working on, there's 24 acres of surface parking. They want their workforce living next to the facility so they're not leaving the complex at 2 a.m. and driving an hour. They need a vibrant, robust street experience that's highly amenitized. This is a benefit to residents, office workers and owners. It's about the human need to socialize, and it's targeted to their true needs. It allows cities to attract and retain, to become more vibrant.

GlobeSt.com: Are Orange County residents beginning to change their way of thinking about density and land use?

Mindlin: For many of these reasons, the answer is yet. It's not everywhere, and a lot of communities are dead set against development. Often, people haven't been given the respect enough to be told what kind of development is planned. There are benefits to development. Some communities want much reduced parking because the culture of US society is transit-oriented development, mixed-use developed right near a metro stop. You are seeing changes in cultural values, and those are the things that drive real estate markets. For the sharp developers who try and understand how culture changes and what those value systems are, they're looking at future markets. They're looking up to six years down the road in what development is for now. Those values generate constituencies. Those are the things driven by changing value systems. Land cost drives density.

In Orange County, we're on the cusp of seeing transformation. There's a lot of new and old development in Orange County. The mix is changing. People are not really looking for single-use neighborhoods like that. People see density as what gets them what they want. If done right, people like it. Successful, well-designed development creates enduring value. Density brings a sense of urbanity and allows us to transform communities in a positive way. It's all in the details.

SANTA ANA, CA—In Orange County, a market once vehemently opposed to the concept, people are embracing the idea of well-planned, mixed-use and transit-oriented projects that “bring them what they want,” TCA Architects principal and studio director Michael Mindlin tells GlobeSt.com. Santa Ana, CA, will soon feature a new urban village when the 2700 Main Office Tower is redeveloped to include 27 Hundred, a 247-unit contemporary apartment community, according to the building's owner Professional Real Estate Services.

TCA Architects' design concept for 27 Hundred is the final piece in what aims to be a sustainable live-work-play environment incorporating the residential of 27 Hundred with the retail, dining, and entertainment of the adjacent MainPlace Mall and the office space within the Wells Fargo Tower. Construction on the renovation and addition is planned for the first quarter of 2018.

Designed by TCA, 27 Hundred utilizes the firm's integrated approach to urban development, outlined recently in a white paper titled “The War on Asphalt.” According to Mindlin, “The residential component will be built upon the existing underutilized asphalt parking lot whose sole purpose was to serve the office tower. After evaluating the area from a lifestyle perspective, we've re-envisioned the property as a new walkable, sustainable community. Rather than creating a standalone apartment development, 27 Hundred's design complements the enhanced tower, creating what will be an entirely new walkable community where you can live, work, shop and play.”