Culdesac

@RandomGuy100807 Thanks for the rec! Do you have any specific sites in mind?

@culdesac Okay well, regardless of the weather it’s good work you guys are doing. Lots of massive parking lots to colonize in CA btw @culdesac 👀

7 years ago, we got laughed out of the room. Now, leaders from all over the country are visiting Culdesac Tempe asking, "How can I bring this to my city?"

@jimmygandhi @UrbanCourtyard Thanks for the honest take! Our retail has evolved quite a bit- we have a Korean corner market, barbershop, primary care doctor, and more food options alongside the boutique shops. And most units get windows on 3 sides thanks to the L-shaped building layouts!

I've been here. Frankly it's a glorified apartment complex. The units are rentals with typical, small layouts and cheap finishes. I didn't see any rooms with double aspects. The population is transient and mostly single people or couples. Few families or longterm residents. The public spaces are more like the common area amenities that they are unused. No grocery store or even a corner store. A bit of retail which IMO is useless (candle shop, gift shop). The exteriors of the building are nice, whitewashed solid facades. Common areas have pavers and are well-maintained. Most of it still has to be built so maybe it will turnout for the better.

Culdesac is important because it shows the podium block megaproject isn’t a law of nature It shows developers can finance dense development that is chunked into many smaller buildings. 100s of units, no parking structure, multiple small buildings, narrow lanes

@UrbanCourtyard @EdwardBittner16 Our 27-acre Mesa project was just approved, which will include 140 for-sale townhomes in the first phase! It will be the first new for-sale product in Downtown Mesa in over 40 years. We also just opened our Atlanta townhomes for tours and sales - 42 affordable, for-sale homes.

@EdwardBittner16 yeah, I hope they can expand model to include for sale units. That would be an amazing accomplishment.

@UrbanCourtyard Absolutely- 5 over 1s add necessary housing, but usually add cars instead of street life. We need more models like ours that prove truly walkable development is possible, profitable, and scalable. Thanks, Alicia!

@ApoStructura Yes! We're still building out ~9 more acres in Tempe, and our 27-acre Mesa project was just approved. We also just opened our Atlanta townhomes for tours and sales (42 affordable, for-sale homes, 1-3 beds)

@culdesac Never been to phoenix! But I’ll make sure to check it out when I do. Any plan to expand your Tempe location or into other cities?

@MrBillyBob2 Fair point! Rentals made more sense for Tempe, but our 27-acre Mesa project was just approved, and the first phase includes 140 for-sale townhomes. It'll be the first for-sale housing in Downtown Mesa in over 40 years, so we're excited to bring that to the market.

@culdesac I should have said I thought it was a development with apartments and condos' you could purchase.

@RandomGuy100807 The summer is hot, but between our mild winters and dry heat, PHX has a comparable number of comfortable days to most of the U.S. And it's one of the fastest-growing cities in the country. We'd rather meet that housing demand with walkable neighborhoods than more sprawl.

@culdesac I love walkable neighborhoods and TOD but why did yall build this in one of worst outdoor climates in the mainland US? 😅

@TCAZ1776 It's one of the best things about our neighborhood! The shade is so important in a desert climate like AZ.

@culdesac Note how the buildings create shaded courtyards and walking paths between them - like something you see in the middle east or northern africa.

@AlijahLettieri SLC transit is great! Do you have a specific location or site in mind?

@culdesac This would be awesome in Salt Lake City area. We have a ton of transit here.

@ApoStructura Thank you! Have you had the chance to visit yet?

@culdesac Really cool!

@MrBillyBob2 You can check out our amazing retailers here: culdesac.com/tempe/retail/

@culdesac No one laughed but, we wondered if it would work. As I recall it was a originally a mixed development and not just apartments, now it is just apartments. It's Tempe so lot's of people coming home from the bars are going to get lost in that homogenous maze.

@MrBillyBob2 It's still a mixed-use development! We have 20+ local shops, including a plant store, café, barbershop, Korean convenience mart, and much more.

@reaverxai There are tons of new housing projects being built along the light rail nearby. Google Maps satellite imagery is a few years behind.

@culdesac No shade, but the amount of coverage this postage stamp in the middle of office parks is getting is pretty telling At least it's on an LRT line

@alec93 We focused on what people actually experience at street level: shade, desert plants, and active spaces. The buildings also have arches and various architectural details throughout- not just big boxes.

@culdesac Couldn’t do anything to the rooflines to make each building look less like a box?

The best way to address loneliness in our cities is to build walkable neighborhoods.

New development can add housing AND character to a neighborhood. We just need zoning that allows it.

It's easier to have healthy habits in walkable neighborhoods, where you're biking to a friend's place for dinner, walking to the corner store, or stopping by the park on your way home without needing to plan out a drive. Let's build more walkable places in the U.S.

"No one bikes in Arizona." Tempe on a random weekday:

Last week, we hosted the Association for Commuter Transportation at Culdesac Tempe. By integrating a transportation portfolio from day one, we can reduce parking demand and unlock the land-use flexibility needed to deliver beautiful, walkable neighborhoods.