A great article. We need to move officials, particularly those in places like
Des Moines, out of their mid-twentieth century mindset regarding
transportion. The automobile was never the best method of transportation in
cities, but for decades we have assumed that it was, as we have built our
cities to facilitate movement of autos at the expense of other more
efficient, safer, healthier modes of transport.

Tom Mathews,
Sierra Club, Iowa Chapter
Transportation issue chair

Quote:  "Transit-oriented development will be to this century what suburban
development was to the past," said Anthony L. Marchetta, a vice president of
LCOR, which is based in the Philadelphia suburb of Berwyn, Pa. "People do not
want to drive to the city anymore; they would rather take a train."

Subj:    Fw: New TOD around older rail stations
Date:   03-04-03 17:34:33 EST
From:   [log in to unmask] (Eric Bruun)
Sender: [log in to unmask] (Sierra Club Forum on
Transportation Issues)
Reply-to:   [log in to unmask] (Sierra Club Forum on
Transportation Issues)
To: [log in to unmask]

>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Nawdry" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Monday, March 17, 2003 2:50 PM
> Subject: New TOD around older rail stations
>
>
> >
> > =PTP=
> >
> > New York Times
> > March 16, 2003
> >
> > New Vitality Around Old Railroad Stations
> >
> > By JOHN HOLUSHA
> >
> >
> > After a career as a schoolteacher and administrator in New
> > York City, Frances Fein moved to Maplewood, N.J., five and
> > a half years ago to be closer to a daughter and grandchild.
> > Last June, she rented an apartment in the newly opened
> > Gaslight Commons in neighboring South Orange.
> >
> > Like many New Yorkers she had neither a car nor an
> > inclination to own one, an anomaly, to say the least, in the
> > auto-oriented suburbs.
> >
> > In her new location, she can easily walk to the stores in "the
> > village," South Orange's downtown area. Just as important,
> > she is only a short distance from the New Jersey Transit
> > railroad station, where Manhattan Direct service can take
> > her to Pennsylvania Station in about 25 minutes. "I still love
> > New York, so the train is really important," she said. "I take
> > the train into the city two or three times a week."
> >
> > Gaslight Commons - named for the town's retro street
> > lights - was developed by LCOR Inc., which is actively
> > seeking to take advantage of improvements in mass transit
> > and a change in public attitudes in creating both commercial
> > and residential developments. LCOR has developed more
> > than 20,000 residential units and 16 million square feet of
> > commercial space nationally since 1978.
> >
> > "Transit-oriented development will be to this century what
> > suburban development was to the past," said Anthony L.
> > Marchetta, a vice president of LCOR, which is based in the
> > Philadelphia suburb of Berwyn, Pa. "People do not want to
> > drive to the city anymore; they would rather take a train."
> >
> > "We were suburban developers," said Peter T. Gilpatric, a
> > senior vice president of LCOR. "We took cornfields and
> > potato fields and built on them. But we are driven by barriers
> > to entry, and the barriers to entry in the suburbs are driving
> > us back to the cities."
> >
> > Development linked to transit hubs is not limited to New
> > Jersey, where the state government's policy is to preserve
> > open space by directing development to urban areas with
> > established mass transit and utilities. In New York, LCOR
> > has begun leasing a recently completed development it is
> > calling Bank Street Commons, a 500-unit apartment
> > complex in White Plains, adjacent to a Metro-North Railroad
> > station.
> >
> > Another developer, Forest City Daly, has acquired 2.75
> > acres of land in Mamaroneck, N.Y., about one and a half
> > blocks from the Larchmont train station. It is seeking
> > government approvals to develop 185 rental apartments and
> > town houses that will be marketed to commuters.
> >
> > LCOR is also planning a 300,000-square-foot office building
> > in downtown Jamaica, Queens, close to the Long Island Rail
> > Road station and the AirTrain to Kennedy International
> > Airport. Executives of the company said LCOR has
> > developed a mixed-use project, including 1,400 units of
> > housing, 200,000 square feet of retail space and 1.2 million
> > square feet of office space, in the Washington suburb of
> > Bethesda, but noted that the New York region, with its highly
> > developed mass transit systems, presents numerous
> > opportunities.
> >
> > Indeed, Mr. Marchetta said, the Hudson River Gold Coast in
> > Jersey City and Hoboken could be regarded as a transit-
> > related development because of the PATH rail line and ferry
> > links between the housing and offices there and Manhattan.
> >
> > The increased attractiveness of railroads is attributable both
> > to improvements in passenger rail service and to the
> > realization that no more highways are likely to be built in
> > crowded urban areas like metropolitan New York, said
> > James W. Hughes, dean of the Edward J. Bloustein School
> > of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University. "Over
> > the last 20 years, office growth in the suburbs has become
> > an increasingly important part of the economy," he said. "But
> > the problem is that sprawl has produced crawl and the
> > crowding has spread to the periphery of the region."
> >
> > He said the spread of office development in New Jersey
> > followed the pattern of the Interstate highway system, which
> > was largely complete by the 1970's. By the end of the
> > 1990's, people began to notice - as they sat in traffic jams
> > - that no highway capacity had been added in at least a
> > decade. "The highway budget these days goes to repair
> > existing bridges, not to add capacity," Dr. Hughes said.
> >
> > Meanwhile, the state was improving its transit system. It
> > added Manhattan Direct service, which takes passengers
> > into New York City without having to change in Hoboken to
> > the PATH lines. Meanwhile, the system plans to add to
> > capacity by ordering double-decker passenger cars and
> > more powerful locomotives to pull longer trains.
> >
> > In addition, a $450 million rail transfer station is nearing
> > completion in the Meadowlands in Secaucus. It will allow
> > riders on New Jersey Transit's Bergen County and Pascack
> > Valley Lines to bypass Hoboken and the PATH as well.
> >
> > Rail-related developments are mainly marketed to those
> > without school-age children, developers say. Apartments
> > with easy access to New York City are attractive to young
> > singles and childless couples not interested in the
> > maintenance of a house and unconcerned about the quality
> > of school systems. They are also attractive to older people
> > whose families are grown and who, similarly, want to be
> > connected with the city, if not actually live in it.
> >
> > "The baby boom generation is now 39 to 57 years old, and
> > there are plenty of empty nesters who are rattling around
> > their McMansions," Dr. Hughes said. "The developers are
> > going after this market by providing a suburban housing
> > option that is more affordable than Manhattan."
> >
> > Or put another way, a given number of dollars buys or rents
> > more housing in the suburbs than it would in Manhattan.
> > "For a person who still has a job in the city, living in White
> > Plains means an extra room and a place to park the car,"
> > Mr. Marchetta said.
> >
> > Developments of this type are attractive to towns that fear
> > additional housing will bring in an influx of children whose
> > presence will force expensive expansions of school systems.
> > In South Orange, there are a total of three school-age
> > children in Gaslight Commons, a development of 200
> > apartments, Mr. Marchetta said, and one is a high school
> > senior about to depart for college.
> >
> > The importance of the proximity to the railroad station can
> > be found in the parking lots of the complex, which are nearly
> > full on weekdays, the LCOR executive said, because most
> > residents take the train to work and typically use their cars
> > on weekends.
> >
> > Office workers like proximity to transportation as well, LCOR
> > executives say. The company's proposed JFK Corporate
> > Square development in Queens, a $30 million office
> > building, is to be close to terminals for the Long Island Rail
> > Road and the AirTrain to J.F.K. Airport. "It's an eight minute
> > ride to the airport once service begins," said Mr. Gilpatric.
> > The train had been scheduled to start running last year, but
> > a fatal derailment has postponed service indefinitely.
> >
> > In Connecticut, a $200 million commercial development
> > approved for a 35-acre site next to the Metro-North tracks in
> > the town of Fairfield includes construction of what would be
> > the town's third train station. The zoning at the site, to be
> > called Black Rock Park, allows for one million square feet of
> > offices, a hotel, day care center and health club. An
> > agreement to develop the property drawn up by the town,
> > the Connecticut Department of Transportation and Black
> > Rock Realty, a private developer, cites the creation of a
> > station as essential to attracting tenants to the planned office
> > buildings.
> >
> > In Westchester, the short walk to the Larchmont station on
> > Metro-North is what motivated Forest City Daly, a subsidiary
> > of Cleveland-based Forest City Enterprises, to assemble a
> > 2.75 acre site in Mamaroneck for a residential and retail
> > development. "What drew us here was that it is a great
> > neighborhood and it is close to the train station and
> > downtown Mamaroneck," said George P. Kruse, the
> > company's vice president for development.
> >
> > He said the proposed development would include 185
> > market-rate apartments in a seven-story building with retail
> > stores and parking in the base. "It is one and a half blocks to
> > the train station and three blocks to one of the nicest
> > downtowns in Westchester County," he said.
> >
> > While officials in Westchester seem willing to accept transit-
> > related developments only after long and careful planning,
> > municipal leaders in New Jersey are counting on them to
> > help revive down-at-the-heels neighborhoods that have
> > stops on passenger lines.
> >
> > Forest City Daly is developing plans to renew the downtown
> > shopping area of Bloomfield Township, a blue collar Essex
> > County suburb that was once a shopping destination, before
> > the development of suburban malls. Plans call for 500
> > market-rate apartments, 170,000 square feet of retail space
> > and a 900-space parking deck.
> >
> > The development would transform a 13 acre site in the "Six
> > Points" part of town that had been designated an area in
> > need of redevelopment several years ago. Forest City Daly
> > expects to be designated as the developer within weeks, Mr.
> > Kruse said. If that happens, he said, demolition work would
> > begin by fall. The $160 million project is expected to take
> > five years to complete, starting with acquisition of the
> > needed land.
> >
> > Mr. Kruse said his company had been drawn to the project
> > because the site surrounds a New Jersey Transit rail station
> > that is benefiting from the opening of the Montclair
> > Connection a mile or so away. The connection, which joined
> > two rail lines, puts Bloomfield's station on the main line to
> > New York rather than on a truncated branch as it was in the
> > past.
> >
> > "Midtown Direct train service is what drew us to the site,"
> > said Mr. Kruse. He said the expectation was that the easy
> > access to New York and lower rentals than some nearby
> > towns like Montclair would draw residents to the area. They,
> > in turn, would establish a base of shoppers for the new retail
> > development. The additional parking would be a lure for
> > shoppers from other towns in the area, because parking is
> > chronically scarce in an region that developed along train
> > lines before automobiles were invented.
> >
> > One possible drawback is that the station itself is not owned
> > by New Jersey Transit, having been sold years ago, along
> > with others in the area. Some stations have ended up as
> > offices for real estate agents and lawyers, while today's
> > commuters stand on cold platforms waiting for trains.
> >
> > A far more ambitious plan linked to rail service has been
> > proposed for Harrison, a former manufacturing center on the
> > Passaic River to the east of Newark. There is a PATH train
> > stop in Harrison; it provides a link to Pennsylvania Station in
> > Newark, which has access to Northeast Corridor trains and a
> > link to Newark Liberty International Airport.
> >
> > Since much of the 235-acre site designated for
> > redevelopment is currently covered with abandoned factory
> > buildings, persuading people to move there will be a
> > challenge, even those involved in development plans
> > acknowledge.
> >
> > "Urban development is not for the faint of heart," said
> > Joseph Romano, a vice president of Advance Realty Group,
> > which plans a mixed use development on 135 acres of the
> > site. The plans include 3,500 apartment units, 2.5 million
> > square feet of office space and 500,000 to 1 million square
> > feet of retail space phased in over 10 years.
> >
> > A key to the project will be building a stadium for the
> > MetroStars professional soccer team. A 25,000 seat stadium
> > would be ideal for the team, which regularly draws close to
> > 20,000 people a game, but they are lost in Giants Stadium,
> > with a capacity of more than 70,000, Mr. Romano said.
> >
> > But public transportation remains at the core of the project,
> > said David B. Barry, president of Applied Development,
> > which plans to build housing on 30 acres near the PATH
> > station. "The overwhelming thing driving Harrison is the train
> > station," he said. "Without the PATH, it is a completely
> > different redevelopment."
> >
> > It would be foolish to ignore the fact the Interstate 280 runs
> > through Harrison, providing easy access to the New Jersey
> > Turnpike and other major roads in the area, said Jeffrey
> > Babikien, a senior managing director with Insignia/ESG, the
> > brokerage and services company. He said current plans
> > include an improved two-way connection with the highway.
> > "A project like this cannot survive on mass transit alone," he
> > said. "You have to give people the opportunity to drive to
> > work."
> >
> > Conceding that there is little ambience in the area now, Mr.
> > Barry said several projects needed to be developed at the
> > same time to convince people that it is a suitable location for
> > living, working and shopping. But he said today's Harrison is
> > no more an eyesore than Jersey City was when its
> > waterfront was littered with abandoned rail lines and
> > decaying warehouses. The Lefrak Organization led the way
> > in developing new housing and office towers in the city with
> > its 600-acre Newport project. "Jersey City, prior to Lefrak,
> > looked like Harrison does now," Mr. Barry said.
> >
> > The coming of Manhattan Direct rail service has brightened
> > up the downtowns in places like South Orange, where new
> > retail stores have opened to cater to commuters and close-
> > by residents, and in Morristown, where a development of 10
> > new town houses costing close to $1 million each has all but
> > sold out, according to town officials.
> >
> > AS a result, the state has designated the area around the
> > train stations in some towns as "transit villages" which are
> > eligible for assistance by a variety of state agencies. In
> > Morristown, a 300-space surface parking lot adjacent to the
> > train station is to be developed into a project with about 200
> > rental apartments, 8,000 square feet of retail space and a
> > parking deck for 700 cars, according to Michael Fabrizio,
> > executive director of the Morristown Partnership, a business-
> > backed improvement group. The project has a budget of $35
> > million.
> >
> > In South Orange, in addition to Gaslight Commons, several
> > other residential projects are being planned, including one
> > that would replace a closed supermarket.
> >
> > Transit villages are areas within one-quarter to one-half mile
> > from a train station that have been designated for mixed-use
> > redevelopment, said Jack Lettiere, the commissioner of New
> > Jersey's Department of Transportation. "There is a strong
> > residential component and some focus on commercial
> > development as well," he said. "The object is to reduce
> > traffic congestion by making transportation less of a burden
> > on people's lives."
> >
> > A related objective is to help older downtown areas, which
> > tend to be close to the railroad stations, flourish once again,
> > he said. He said Gov. James E. McGreevey wants to double
> > the number of designated transit villages by next year as
> > part of a plan to curb sprawl in the outer suburbs.
> >
> > Besides South Orange and Morristown, existing transit
> > villages include Rahway, Riverside, Rutherford, South
> > Amboy and Pleasantville, near Atlantic City. Metuchen was
> > recently added to the list, with the state contributing
> > $600,000 to build a pedestrian bridge, flashing signals at
> > pedestrian crosswalks and other improvements.
> >
> > Most of the towns being designated for redevelopment were
> > originally settled as train lines stretched across the state in
> > the mid-1800's. In Montclair, where the price of housing
> > increased sharply with the completion of the Montclair
> > Connection and the advent of Manhattan Direct service last
> > year, started attracting commuters to New York in 1856, the
> > year rail service began.

> >
> > Because they developed in a pre-automobile era, the
> > downtown areas tend to be compact and easy to walk
> > around. (The corollary, of course, is that parking is a
> > annoyance for those who have to drive.)
> >
> > But government programs are not needed to persuade
> > executives to pursue private sector opportunities at some
> > sites close to passenger trains. "We are looking at a site in
> > Bronxville," said Mr. Gilpatric of LCOR. "It could be a condo
> > project with the sales prices at $1 million." He noted the
> > success of the similarly priced project in Morristown.
> >
> > Mr. Kruse of Forest City Daly said his company is looking at
> > additional transit-related projects as well. "We are talking to
> > officials in New Brunswick about a residential development,"
> > he said. "And, yes, it is close to the train station."
> >
> >
>

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