Thursday, December 13, 2012

Retail-Ready is the New Mixed-Use

Just what is transit-oriented development anyway? A high-density, mixed-use residential and commercial area with convenient access to public transit. More or less, right?

After the jump, another definition.



I'm learning that the definition for transit-oriented development is more nebulous when it requires saying no to developers. In that case, mixed-use morphs into "retail-ready" and high-density morphs into "the market won't support it" and transit-oriented development morphs into a "catalyst" for something more like transit-oriented development in the undetermined future.

At least that's the direction the proposal for the GreenVUE apartments on vacant land just north of the Arapaho DART station seems to be headed. If (more likely when) the city council gives its approval, Richardson will get another 1980s-style apartment complex instead of transit-oriented development on that property.

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