Did you know in cities who boast a similar quality of life in regard to access to greenway, trails and cycling infrastructure as Bentonville like Roaring fork valley and Aspen Colorado, that one of the biggest reasons many residents have to commute 30-minutes to an hour for work is because of lack of density within existing infill development? If you know me, you’ve heard me mention (and maybe monologue about) "infill development" probably more than once (or twice). It can be a buzzword in the real estate/development world, so I wanted to break it down: ?Simply put, infill development involves building new structures on existing urban or suburban land. It's a great way to revitalize existing neighborhoods, reduce sprawl, and promote walkability. ?So rather than going out and creating new infrastructure, as an infill developer, we tap into and often upgrade EXISTING infrastructure. ?The result over time, is it’s more cost effective and saves time because you’re positioning people closer to their needs and wants. My hope for NWA is that we can figure it out now and find a way to grow in the core before we start sprawling out east and west—avoiding pushing the workforce further away from the core.? One of our current projects at Newell Development , Coler Crossing (pictured here), is being developed on previously underutilized land. By positioning this mixed-use development on the N. Walton Corridor, we’re activating that corner connecting downtown to Coler Bike Preserve—just 1 mile away! What are your thoughts on infill development? Have you seen any positive benefits for our community?? ___ Of course, none of this progress on our current project—and many past projects—Coler Crossing would be possible without the work of our amazing partners BUF Studio, Ecological Design Group, First National Bank of NWA, and Ross Construction Group, LLC.
Aspen is hardly a bigger city. Only has 6000 permanent residents. Not part of a bigger metro area either. And crazy expensive real estate!! But yes I agree infill is what we need. Zoning works against us. So do vertical height restrictions, and so do parking reqts.
Infill development can be harder (as you know) due to all the things that must be considered and coordinated. However, the benefits of locating new projects near and convenient to EXISTING infrastructure, ammenties and community spaces is well worth the effort. In my mind, that juice is well worth the squeeze…
We are heavily involved in the downtown bentonville market. I would assume the townhomes/quadplexes we are placing all over would fit that description. Usually demo a 50 year old house, and place the new in its place. Definitely has some civil upgrade challenges that most aren’t prepared for. ?? I loved at this project with the previous owner, several times a few years ago. Glad to see it going up!
In the NWA Metropolitan Region Infill Developments should be our focus as well as Redevelopment Projects in our Downtowns, Neighborhood Growth Nodes and selected Urban Corridors.
Have watched this one go up and it’s my favorite development you all have done. Such a cool spot and project. I don’t know a lot about infill development, but I want to. You do a great job at it.
I agree
Like all of yours-super cool project, Jake.
Keep up the great work you do in our community!
New Venture | Subsurface Curious | Investigator of Rivers and Streams
1 个月Another beautiful Newell Development project and a stellar example of excellence in design. Bentonville would be wise to adopt soon development policies and processes to account for the high volume punctuated precipitation events. With less ground cover to naturally absorb rainfall flooding will increase...it already has. With a geological substrate of low permeability cherts and lime mudstones, flooding is in the nature of the Springfield Plateau of the Ozark Uplift. In addition to higher frequency flood events, the increasing square footage of infill development roofs will change the ecology of the rock bottomed creeks. They will be silted in within the decade.