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.
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..."
Read the full story: Creating Community
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