Fisher-Hallman & Bleams Development

[danbrotherston]

Considering where it is, I find it surprisingly dense, although still very car-centric.

I don’t really like the layout. Even once one is there (for example, because one lives in the apartments), there are still substantial and rather unpleasant walks through parking lots to get anywhere. What would be wrong with putting one continuous building along the roads, with the retail component on the bottom floor and apartments above? Then just have a single huge parking lot out back. Also, have a continuous covered walkway around the entire building (or at least around the entire front of the building, connecting both retail and residential entrances). This enormously improves the pedestrian experience (once you’re under cover, you stay there until you’re done) while really not changing the driving experience at all. It also brings the whole development closer to whatever is built on the other corners (haven’t actually checked what is existing/likely on those corners).

Indeed, they've placed the main access road between the residences and the shops.  One could easily imagine instead a pedestrian plaza or even parket, with all the shopping snugged up around this, and parking and facility access in the back.  This just seems like more of the same broken suburban development, just a little taller.

If you look at the renders, it becomes even more obvious (although I'm sure this could be an oversight missing in the renders), there isn't even frontage access from the trail/sidewalk/bus stop to the stores that are street facing.