The New Mixed-Use Playbook
The best mixed-use developments don’t just combine uses—they integrate them. Here’s how.
I was too old to watch “Hannah Montana” when the show first came out in 2006. And by the time my kids were old enough to watch it, there were newer, shinier things to watch. (Like watching other kids play video games on YouTube. I … don’t get this new generation.) But still, even without being a fan, I couldn’t escape its ubiquity. And you know what, Miley Cyrus had a good point. It really is great to have the best of both worlds!
And that doesn’t just apply to teenage pop stars with really bad wigs.
When you’re developing or redeveloping a mixed-use property, you want it to appeal to renters, of course. But it’s also smart to incorporate the building’s history into the design. The building should be functional, but it can be aesthetically pleasing at the same time.
Take, for instance, the properties featured in Associate Editor Mikayla Sciortino’s “Reduce Your Exposure: Why Hi-Tech Buildings Are Safer.” L.A.’s District NoHo is set to be one of the largest redevelopments in the city, and it will include market-rate and affordable apartments and office and retail space and connect to the North Hollywood metro station.
And EpicCentral in Texas was designed to remove the “pressure points” people face walking to different destinations, such as by adding a pedestrian bridge. Additionally, the architects and designers took the climate into account and implemented overhangs, awnings and retractable doors to allow for more shade and flexibility.
“A lot of our placemaking comes from alleviating distance,” John Carruth of Merriman Anderson Architects told Sciortino about the project. “Everything is very walkable.”
Both of these projects make sure they are catering to what prospective tenants need, while also giving them what they want.
Form and function. They really are the best of both worlds!
Interested in how other developers and designers incorporated multiple elements into their properties? Check out the case studies in our issue. I hope you enjoy!
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