Lessons Learned Still getting your arms around the mixed-use concept? Here are five tips from developers and architects experienced in this type of development.
1. Plan Ahead: Since there are so many coordination and staging issues, it’s crucial to plan the entire project on paper before beginning construction.
2. Think Big: If the goal is to revitalize a blighted area, you need to develop a large project. A small project–say, 15 housing units and 5,000 square feet of retail space–isn’t usually enough to generate excitement and create impact.
3. Sky’s the Limit: Fully explore all financing options. Two often-overlooked tools: historic and new-market tax credits.
4. Team Up: Don’t try to do everything yourself. Join forces with a retail developer, who brings expertise and industry contacts.
5. Staying Alive: For a mixed-use project to work, it has to feel active and alive at all times. Not generating that buzz? Create an interior cruising street to add some motion to the streetscape.