The Ins and Outs of Infill
By Kirk Baruth
| Infill development: A site seamlessly developed within an existing urban fabric, balancing, completing and/or repairing the surrounding sectors. |
| —The Lexicon of the New Urbanism |
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Plan AK-10-E, tucked into an infill lot between two existing homes in an established St. Paul, Minn., neighborhood. Photo by Jason Miller. |
In recent years, an increasing concern with urban sprawl has prompted many cities to establish growth boundaries, lines in the proverbial sand that prohibit development from spreading ever further from the urban core. Simultaneously, a new generation of home buyers, disillusioned by the sameness of many American suburbs, is opting to put down roots in established urban neighborhoods, close to the cultural, recreational and entertainment offerings of the central city.
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| A rear view (above) and detached garage view (below) of AK-10-E. Note the seamless fit the home makes in the neighborhood by complementing the existing architecture and utilizing the alley instead of cutting the curb in front for a suburban-style garage. Photos by Jason Miller. |
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The convergence of these trends has forced builders, developers and would-be homeowners to look again at land that was passed over for one reason or another in the march to the suburbs, as well as at sites ripe for second-, third- or even fourth-generation redevelopment. These infill sites, as they're known, often require traditional greenfield developers and builders (a greenfield is a site in natural condition or in agricultural use) to rethink their approach to building. But the benefits—to the home builder and to the community—can be well worth the extra effort.
Since moving to Minnesota's Twin Cities in 1991, Michael Lander has worked exclusively on residential and commercial infill projects. Lander, a developer and president of the Minneapolis-based Lander Group, knows the ins and outs of infill, and he admits that it can be frustrating for the uninitiated.
"It's very challenging in infill," he says. "There are some positive opportunities, but it's not for the faint of heart. Ultimately, it is just more risky and more difficult. The people that do it a lot learn methods to try to reduce that risk."
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Located in Minneapolis' hip Uptown neighborhood, these townhome units reflect the bold style that gives the area its unique flavor.
Project: 3529 Hennepin Court
Design: Town Planning Collaborative
Architects-of-Record: Dovolis Johnson & Ruggieri, Inc.
Photography: Mark Englund |
Prime lots are waiting to be developed in older, established neighborhoods. Lander offers a few tips to make the experience easier for first-time infill developers or builders. The list starts with a command of biblical significance: Love your neighbor.
"It's just absolutely critical in an infill situation to work collaboratively with the neighbors—whoever that might be," Lander says. It might be businesses, it might be churches, it might be residents."
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| Two good examples of vacant lots in residential neighborhoods—perfect sites for infill housing. Photos by Jason Miller. |
This collaboration can help resolve one of the thorniest issues in any infill project: arriving at an appropriate architectural style for the building that will occupy the site. Most home builders choose an infill lot in a particular neighborhood because they appreciate the design or the scale of the existing homes. It's important that new housing not detract from the neighborhood's character. A suburban-style house with a sprawling floor plan or a prominent, front-loaded, three-car garage won't be welcomed on a street of neat bungalows. Nor is this the proper setting for an exhibition of architectural experimentation. Respect the neighborhood and the people who inhabit it. Contacting a neighborhood group, or even going door-to-door to speak with individuals, is a public relations step that can smooth the road ahead.
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| Jason Miller |
"Start with the neighborhood associations," Lander says. "Go to the neighborhoods before you've done anything." He says that even a preliminary step such as having a rendering drawn of the proposed home or project is a bad idea and can lead to misgivings in the minds of the neighbors. "My advice is to go to the neighborhood first and say, 'I'm considering [building] in your neighborhood, and I'd like to know what you folks think about that lot'—or that old abandoned building or whatever—'down the block. What would you like to see there?' as a way to show some consideration for the neighborhood. I've found that to be a very successful strategy, because a lot of people don't have that many evolved thoughts, but they get very insulted if they've lived on the block for twenty years and I come build something there and don't even ask them about it."
Lander can't stress the point forcefully enough: "I can think of one home in particular that was built without regard for its neighborhood. [Within a period of] five years, two families moved in, sold it and left. I think they realized that their neighbors disliked the house and, by extension, disliked them."
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| A demolition crew removes leftover debris from a razed home in an established St. Paul neighborhood. Replacing older, vacant and sometimes uninhabitable homes with suitable housing stock bolsters a city's tax base and plugs holes in a neighborhood's "fabric." Photo by Jason Miller. |
After talking with the neighbors, it's important to find out more about the actual site. Infill sites usually have histories far more complicated—or even hazardous—than most greenfield sites.
Says Lander, "Environmental issues are increasingly challenging. There's a lot of pollution, so many sites you might want to build on actually have a problem to solve before you can begin, which is a technical challenge and a financial challenge. Oftentimes solving a site problem involves some public sector-the city, the county, the state, somebody-stepping in and helping."
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This condominium complex in Minnesota's capital city blends gracefully with its neighbors: Gilded Age mansions that line St. Paul's historic Summit Avenue.
Project: 280 Summit Condominium
Design: Town Planning Collaborative
Architects-of-Record: LHB Engineers & Architects
Photography: Mark Englund |
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| Jason Miller |
A site can present other problems as well. Most suburban builders are used to working with large lots because the land is so readily available. On infill sites, however, builders may have to reorient their thinking about the shape and size of the house to be built.
"In many infill situations," Lander says, "the standard homes that are built out in the greenfields either don't physically fit because their size is wrong for a small city lot, or they don't architecturally or aesthetically fit in. So there is a need to develop new housing types for infill, and some view that as an obstacle because it could be expensive. It's also critical, though, in the market, because if you build an inappropriate design in an infill setting, the market probably is not going to respond to it."
Nevertheless, Lander says this obstacle can be turned into a benefit—particularly for developers—because the type of housing that fits on urban infill is usually higher-density (a condominium project, for example), so multiple units can be sold. Adding different housing options to an established neighborhood is a high priority for Lander.
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| These townhomes blend well with the surrounding buildings in this south Minneapolis neighborhood. Photo by Jason Miller |
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| Another vacant lot converted to a home for another family. Note the detached garage. Photo by Jason Miller. |
"'Lifestyle housing' that the building industry has developed over the last thirty years—a lot of those products that are targeted to a particular kind of buyer—is not present in older neighborhoods. So there's the opportunity to add new kinds of lifestyle housing, and well-executed new construction will virtually always help stabilize and/or increase the home values in the neighborhood."
Ironically, what the location has to offer often adds value to the new construction. Many infill sites, according to Lander, come with "a built-in amenity package" in the form of an established neighborhood.
"The restaurants, the transportation, the theater, certain business services—all the stuff that you need as a consumer is already here." Another appealing characteristic of an infill project is proximity to playgrounds, parks and bike trails. Such recreational facilities seldom exist in new suburban developments. In essence, Lander says, the benefits to infill homeowners go far beyond the amenities they incorporate into the structure itself. They're getting more than a new home, they're getting an entire neighborhood.
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| Left: A mixed-use building rises from a formerly vacant commercial lot near a St. Paul, Minn., college campus. Note how the finished building (right) respects the scale and form of the neighboring structures, and addresses the street and sidewalk in similar fashion. Photos by Jason Miller. |
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| Another infill home under way, completing a corner lot that had lain vacant for years. Photo by Jason Miller. |
This sense of community is attractive to many home builders. For them, the chance to become part of a neighborhood with history and character outweighs any benefits a brand-new suburban development might offer. These new urban pioneers are choosing to build in the city, even before the city planning council tells them they have no other choice.
Sources: Builder, July 1998; Michael Lander, the Lander Group
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