Creating Community Connection: One Home Becomes Sixteen

Love the smartphone. Hate the isolation it creates. There are now less friendly smiles on the bus and chance meetings are too easily hijacked by the latest tweet.

How do we give opportunity for friendly encounters and community connection?

First of all, have vision to transform a piece of land with one single home needing a lot of weekend lawn mowing, to a community of sixteen families. 

Secondly, make sure each new family home has ample space, privacy, security and independence. The interior layout should suit family life, and the home look out to a beautiful garden setting. 

For community connection, think of great places where people mingle naturally - that are sunny, relaxed and have an openness that feels safe, like Rome's Spanish Steps...

By Arnaud 25 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0

In Maple Ridge, British Columbia, after the location's environmental setback was established to match the circumstances, a four-plex / townhouse site was created. To fit in with the neighborhood, the building form was to appear as three large homes, arranged to establish a wonderful family style community setting.

Now a rezoning application at the City, the meeting point designed in the middle of the three buildings is the 'Maple Steps', a place where landscape, sunlight and passive surveillance (for safety) can allow great conversations to begin.

The result is a site surrounded by nature with a beautiful outlook and the right number of families to create a vibrant community where genuine care and concern for each other can happen 'by accident'.

Land Assembly Valuation

Concept Plan

How do you value property on a land assembly deal?

You might go to the MLS, look at active and sold listings in the last few months, look at trends and list comparbles and come up with a number. 

Here is where Commercial Real Estate and Planning Architecture join forces.

The Value of Land is based on the masterplanner's vision and the final built product price on the day of acquisition. 

Massing Study

Vision for land is created by: 

• Site Analysis 
• Masterplanning 
• Massing Studies 
• By-Law Interpretation

The aim is to build agreement between Buyers, Sellers, the City and ultimately the local community to come up with the highest and best use of the land and find a solution where everyone wins.

When we do the right amount of the upfront work to create vision by Site Analysis / Masterplanning / Massing Studies and By-Law interpretation, the whole process can be much smoother and well-reasoned.

Apart from managing the complexity of price through 'residual land value' calculations, the terms of sale in a commercial deal often involves some inventive responses as we satisfy the Stakeholders needs. This is always fascinating because there are lots of interesting moving parts.

Our ultimate aim is three things:  Find a solution that excites the Developer, satisfies the Seller and creates Value.