Developers are considering complicated development areas due to the scarcity of land in most megacities. Meanwhile, many post-industrial landscapes that serve as potentially developable land include waterfronts, rail-yards, and abandoned industrial sectors. Developers are taking a second look at them and seeing if they could be converted into a fully-developed area. While the whole process might take years of planning and visualization, not to mention that the initial process can be equally complicated since it involves many stakeholders. However, once transformed, these landscapes can become among the best places to be.
Cooper Robertson is an architecture and urban design firm that has been at the forefront in casting megadevelopment projects in major cities. The firm has led some desirable projects, including the M-City in Canada, new jersey’s Riverton, and Hudson Yards in Manhattan. Donald Clinton, one of the partners of the architectural firm, talks about how they can sustain such significant projects in modern cities to achieve sustainable growth.
Key Drivers Behind Megadevelopment Projects
The uptick in interest to today’s megadevelopments came as a result of the rise in demand to incorporate the mixed-use concept. The strategy that developers use is to bring together different people who work together. This strategy, in turn, boosts the appeal of the destination since most people fell accommodated.
While commercial and residential offices may be the primary sources of income, incorporating other ideas makes the place livelier. For instance, a tenant will be more attracted to a residential concept that has diverse designs, open spaces, and blended streets. Single building developers can, however, incorporate the mixed usage design.
An example of a single building that has incorporated the mixed-use program is the Time Warner Center based in Manhattan. For the concept to succeed, developers need to consider each sector, master the development, and scale the workflow.
Megaprojects need to consider the following before venturing into an area:
- Economic policy. A good project should attract demand on its own. Developers need to access the demand and supply of the area.
- Financial factors. Projects designed for mixed-use require more time to develop, thus needing more financing. Despite being riskier, the mixed-use policy should be able to attract clients in the end-use.
- Physical features. The landscape, the city materials, and the neighborhoods will play a potential role in determining whether the big-scale development is a success or not.
- Public issues. The development may face resistance from the local people or the government. Developers need to consider general problems to prevent resistance.
Megacomplexes as Neighborhood
Megacomplexes can be fully utilized to be real neighborhoods. Considerations need to be made before the large-scale developments can be viable and livable. Developers need to establish a connection and an integration of the surrounding city.
The development center needs to have a connection to the central city to make it easy to access and act as a natural city extension. The incorporation can be an extensive street grid or retailers strategically placed as part of the neighborhood.
A linking part from the neighborhood to the city is the most important thing that developers should consider when making Megacomplexes viable and suitable to live. Many waterfront areas are inaccessible and cut off from the central city. For example, in North America, there was a need to make the neighborhood accessible by connecting them to the street grid for public access.
Most megaprojects that establish a connection for the people end up creating more development around the project, which makes the neighborhood more suitable for tenants to consider living in. While the complexes are viable to live in, what all developers need is to establish a way to link the neighborhood to the central city, as most Megadevelopment has done. For example, the Philadelphia riverfront project developed a 12-mile connecting stretch to other nearing regions.
Factors for the Adoption of Megadevelopment
The expanding market conditions mostly inspire most ideas to construct the developments. In most cities like New York, the demand for residential and offices is on the rise. While there are no lands in the city that developers can consider, underutilized areas get rehabilitated to cater for the land demand. As long as the grounds connect to the town, they can serve as potential regional and national offices.
Another motivating factor in developing the projects is the desire to stand out among competitors and create something extraordinary. For instance, the project in Las Vegas was initially to rehabilitate a parcel park. However, with time, the developers realized the potential to build a new pedestrian environment. The master plan saw that many businesses express their interests due to their outstanding structure.
Meeting the demands of globalization has enhanced the high requirement for urbanized areas to remain relevant and competitive. Mega scale projects gear up to modify the cities’ structure instead of fitting in the pre-existing structures. The plans also aim to achieve sustainable urban development by developing areas that are good for mixed usage. They incorporate different neighborhoods to make them more productive than before.
Challenges When Designing Megadevelopment Projects
One of the biggest challenges is the pressure to build an ultramodern design. Developers have to consider integrating a project that can adopt a mixed-use policy. The projects are more sophisticated to implement, and model and many developers see it as a challenge. Developers are partnering to work in a group of two to four-person to operate, build, and develop the project. Many cities are encouraging the initiative by crafting the framework for the Megadevelopment then inviting interested developers to participate.
The other big challenge is the associated costs. The projects, especially in big cities like New York, involves rehabilitating the useless land first before commencing with the project. The process to restore the example of the area the rail yards is economically challenging, not forgetting the mega projects that also require a significant investment. Steel building kits are some of the innovations being used to try and cut the costs associated with the plans.
Landscapes and The Design
Before planning new projects, developers first have to consider the region or the city they intend to develop the project. They have to find the landscape, surrounding neighborhood, the developing materials before they can design the architecture design. All these factors help to determine if the large scale project can blend in with the area and be marketable.
The projects have also to incorporate the in-depth of what is trending across the country. The designs need to be outstanding to the clients and need to express specific knowledge. When developing projects in many parts of the country, it is essential to design projects that can suit and blend within a particular area. For example, while steel buildings are economical, the design may not fit well around other urbanized big projects.
Potential Areas for Development
Some excellent opportunity potential for developments includes waterfronts and rail-yards. Campuses and institutional sites are also emerging as large steel buildings in redevelopment areas. Several megadevelopments are poised to suit the interest of many developers. They can be rehabilitated to recreational areas or small town extension.
Other areas showing potential are small cities that have underutilized land areas and ripe for development. With progress inching each day, developing these areas to integrate a community neighborhood consisting of commercial, steel buildings, retail, and residential areas become more and more necessary.
Article originally published on CPExecutive.com
