Glenwood Park seeks to offer a compelling alternative for those who are dissatisfied with the choices provided by conventional development. Conventional development emphasizes the private realm, auto dependency, single use pods, privacy, exclusivity, and bigger and bigger private houses. Glenwood Park emphasizes the public realm, walkability, mixed uses, community, diversity, and quality over quantity.
A Walkable Community
Glenwood Park pragmatically accommodates cars, but it will be designed for people. It will be very walkable. Cars will travel slowly, and sidewalk and street designs will emphasize pedestrian comfort and safety. There will be plenty of interesting things to walk to, because of the fine-grained mix of uses. Walks won’t be too long, because the neighborhood will be relatively compact. And the walks will be safe, because there will be plenty of eyes on the street at all times.
Environmental Considerations
Glenwood Park’s site plan, as well as construction and management procedures, will emphasize resource efficiency, environmental protection and restoration. We will incorporate elements of nature in the neighborhood and make them part of people’s daily experience. Street trees will be especially important. We’d also like to intentionally create habitat that will allow small wildlife to flourish.
A Place for Commerce
The commercial center of Glenwood Park will have retail stores that serve the practical everyday needs of Glenwood Park and its surrounding neighborhoods – needs that are currently not well served. And because of its unique character, rare good urbanism, and easy access, it will also attract businesses that are a destination for citizens of the entire metro area and beyond.
A Place to Live
The residential elements of Glenwood Park will cover the entire spectrum from small condominiums above shops to detached single-family homes. We aspire to keep the scale of individual buildings rather small, which will enhance our ability to have an attractive mix of housing types throughout the neighborhood.
A Place to Work
Glenwood Park features a traditional fine-grained mix of different housing types as well as retail stores, office space, civic buildings, people-friendly streets, parks, and recreational facilities. We welcome offices in the neighborhood, as the daytime occupants and visitors they draw to the neighborhood will be very helpful in maintaining a vibrant, active, daytime environment.
A Place to Gather
Glenwood Park will incorporate civic gathering places, which include public green spaces, pedestrian-oriented streets, recreational facilities, shops and restaurants. We believe that these civic places will reinforce a sense of neighborhood and help provide the glue that holds the people of the community together.
Glenwood Park will be designed to allow a great deal of flexibility in how the neighborhood evolves over time. We greatly admire the flexibility of a town plan like Savannah’s, which has gracefully accommodated a changing mix of uses over many decades. Furthermore, we think it is critical for any place that aspires to be truly loveable to allow for the unplanned to blossom.
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Pictures from urban environments that have inspired us.
Lively shopping street in Athens, Georgia. Great street trees.
An intimate residential street in Charleston, South Carolina.
A classic main street environment, shops below, apartments above.
On this New York City street cafes line wide sidewalks. Parked cars provide a protective barrier from moving cars.
Inviting restaurant storefront in the evening.
A two-story single family house in Georgetown, South Carolina.
Eyes on the street - windows are an important element in making a great street and great places to live.
A relatively new building in Toronto with offices above and stores below. We loved the small grocery.
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