Burbs Becoming "Mini-Cities"

Jenny Sullivan of Builder Magazine spots a trend for slightly increased densities in suburban towns, creating urban-lite communities that are attracting city dwellers who would never have dreamed of living in the burbs.

August 3, 2011, 8am PDT | Tim Halbur

Sullivan looks at two Chicago suburbs that are upping their urban quotient, and profiles a developer that saw the writing on the wall ten years ago:

"Humphreys & Partners Architects in Dallas began experimenting with the idea that apartments didn't have to be towering high-rises or garden-style buildings with creepy central breezeways. The firm's trademarked "Big House" prototype-which has been adopted by builders including Pacific West, Pardee Homes, and Watermark Residential-places roughly 10 rental apartment or condo units inside a 12,000-square-foot (give or take), two-story structure that looks like a single-family home on the outside.

It's a diplomatic way of bumping up density in conventional subdivisions in a way that feels contextual in scale, says CEO Mark Humphries..."

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Creating Community

Published on Thursday, July 7, 2011 in Builder Magazine