Here is our article on the counterintuitive opportunity for developers, which ran in the New England Real Estate Journal Mar 1-7, 2019. The in-article 3D-rendering is by Michael Ordway.
What’s new is an opportunity to develop in zoning-constrained neighborhoods and locations.
If there is anything that breaks categories, it’s low-rise, high density housing, which for practical purposes, we will define as being 4 (or 5) stories tall, usually with a commercial or retail first-floor platform. This model has a number of advantages:
- Lower development cost;
- Public-transportation friendly in zoning-encumbered inner suburbs;
- Ideal for low-income and mixed-income development;
- Can be wrapped around (or shelter) open space;
- Downtown-quality first floor retail space is almost always an upgrade;
- and family friendly.
It is, in fact, so useful, you can find some striking examples of the form in the rapidly-gentrifying Boston neighborhoods around Andrew Square (Dorchester and South Boston).
Read the full article at http://If there is anything that breaks categories, it is low-rise, high density housing
