WASHINGTON, DC—Developers are incorporating the consumer preference for traveling by bike or on foot into their mixed-use projects, says an Urban Land Institute report.
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Paul Bubny |
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Updated on March 30, 2016
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WASHINGTON, DC—Over the years the industry and the public have seen what transit-oriented development can do. Now there’s another TOD in commercial real estate: trail-oriented development that supports biking and walking through urban areas. “At its core, the bicycle boom is about people choosing a lifestyle that gives them more options and requires less dependence on motor vehicles,” says a new report from the Urban Land Institute. “Through supporting bike infrastructure, real estate professionals can play a significant role in creating healthier, more sustainable communities. They can also help position their projects and communities in a marketplace that increasingly values active transportation.” Written by ULI SVP Rachel MacCleery and senior resident fellow Edward McMahon, the report examines the impact of the growing interest in active transportation on economic development, public health, air quality, community design and real estate design and investment. It also profiles development projects that incorporate trail-oriented development, including two overseas. “Communities big and large are now investing in bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure,” according to the report, titled Active Transportation and Real Estate: The Next Frontier . “Their efforts are reshaping destinations across the globe, and have the potential to benefit people of all income brackets, as biking provides mobility for those needing or wanting a less expensive alternative to automobile ownership, maintenance and use,” the report states. The report quotes a publication from PeopleforBikes and the Alliance for Biking & Walking on the economic benefits of protected bike lanes. Among other attributes, bike lanes help promote redevelopment by extending the geographic range of travel in neighborhoods where building new roads are no longer an option and the advent of mass transit may be years in the future. Such lanes also help office-using tenants attract talent. “Because protected bike lanes make biking more comfortable and popular, they help companies locate downtown without breaking the bank on auto parking space, and allow workers to reach their desk the way they increasingly prefer: under their own power,” according to the PeopleforBikes publication. The lanes can also help those tenants boost productivity by having healthier employees. Protected bike lanes can also spur retail traffic. “When people use bikes for errands, they are the ideal kind of retail customers: regulars. They stop by often and spend as much or more per month as people who arrive in cars. Plus, 10 customers who arrive by bike fit in the parking space of one customer who arrives by car.” Profiled in the ULI report are 10 development projects that incorporate bicycle-friendly features. They include Bici Flats, a multifamily development in Des Moines, Circa (multifamily) in Indianapolis; Flats at Bethesda Avenue (mixed-use), Bethesda, MD; Gotham West (mixed-use), New York City; Hassalo on Eighth (mixed-use), Portland, OR; MoZaic (mixed-use), Minneapolis; Ponce City Market (mixed-use), Atlanta; Silver Moon Lodge (mixed-use), Albuquerque; 250 City Road (mixed-use), London; and Westwood Residences (multifamily) in Singapore. All of these projects offer bike storage areas. Other features incorporated into the developments include extra-wide hallways and bike elevators; a bike repair room; bike cleaning stations; a bike valet; shower and/or locker room facilities; bike parts or a mechanic on site; on-site bike rentals or a bike-share system; a bike park-and-ride system; and direct access to trails. “Leading development practitioners are recognizing the competitive advantage of investing in active transportation amenities,” the ULI report states. “By leveraging and enhancing access to walking and bicycling facilities, they are helping to initiate a win-win cycle of mutually reinforcing private and public sector investment in active transportation in communities around the world.”
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