Cultivating great transit related communities final
1. Cultivating Great Transit-Related Communities
in Connecticut and New England
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016 | 3:45 – 5:00PM
Norman F. Cole, AICP | City of Stamford, Connecticut
Dean Mack | City of Bridgeport, Connecticut
George Proakis, AICP | City of Somerville, Massachusetts
Ben Carlson, LEED AP | Goody Clancy
Mitch Glass, ASLA, APA | Goody Clancy
2. Transit service is not always created equal. For some
communities, transit may be non-existent, while in others the
system is overburdened. Learn how three neighborhoods –
one underserved, one newly served, and one long-served by
transit – have been cultivating communities around varying
degrees of transit, and the lessons for your community.
3. Agenda
• Transit-related communities: issues and ingredients
• Introducing three types of TOD contexts
• Updating established neighborhood TOD | Stamford, CT
• Setting the stage for Regional Center TOD | Bridgeport, CT
• Regional Center TOD in motion | Somerville, MA
• Panel discussion
• Audience discussion
5. Issues
Common barriers to great transit-related communities
• Lack of shared community vision
• Inappropriate or outmoded zoning
• Infrastructure costs
• Brownfields costs
• Need to identify/establish effective
financial incentives/tools
• Fragmented land control/location
• Developer capability and capacity
• Ensuring equitable housing, job and
transportation opportunity
• Coordinating municipal, state, federal
& transit agencies to achieve land use/
transportation synergies
6. Community aspirations
Connecting transit with quality of life
• Can TOD’s real
estate market
benefits translate
into community
benefits?
• Can we make TOD’s
impacts equitable?
• Is there a TOD
vision people will
love and
champion,
supporting
community and
economic
development?
Community
aspirations
Multi-modal mix
Walkability
Real estate
market
Fit to context
Timetable
7. Multi-modal mix
Park-and-ride or walk-and-ride?
• Park-and-ride
may impede
walking access
• Bus and bike
connections
must be
convenient and
safe
• Parking: surface
or structured?
Serving
commuters vs.
development?
Community
aspirations
Multi-modal mix
Walkability
Real estate
market
Fit to context
Timetable
8. Walkability
The 10-minute walk
• The ¼ to ½ mile
radius is the
center of
opportunity
• Walkable mixed-
use setting offers
neighborhood &
innovation district
potential
• Invokes pressures,
benefits and
challenges of
density
Community
aspirations
Multi-modal mix
Walkability
Real estate
market
Fit to context
Timetable
9. Real estate market
Would you invest here?
• Emerging markets
• Strategic
repositioning
• Balancing focus
& flexibility
• Leveraging
assets
• Waiting
patiently
• Hot markets
• Housing
affordability
• Jobs/housing
balance
Community
aspirations
Multi-modal mix
Walkability
Real estate
market
Fit to context
Timetable
10. Fit to context
Making confident transitions
• Changing places:
where is/isn’t
redevelopment
desirable? (per
community,
property owners,
market)
• Changing scales:
can zoning and
design guidelines
structure
comfortable
transitions of
height, style,
activity, intensity?
Community
aspirations
Multi-modal mix
Walkability
Real estate
market
Fit to context
Timetable
11. Timetable
When will the train come?
• Transformative TOD
can take decades
• Prepare for elusive
opportunity: align
stakeholders, investors,
sites, development &
infrastructure policies
• Distinguish near- and
long-term planning,
funding elements
• Seek leverage to shape
redevelopment
proposals
Community
aspirations
Multi-modal mix
Walkability
Real estate
market
Fit to context
Timetable
12. Three types of TOD contexts
Updating established neighborhood TOD | Stamford, CT
Setting the stage for Regional Center TOD | Bridgeport, CT
Regional Center TOD in motion| Somerville, MA
25. City Roadmap
1 Invest in transportation infrastructure
2 Comprehensive Vision and Plan
3 Rezoning to incentivize development
4 Control and Preparation of Key Development Sites?
5 Engage Investors – Trust-Building and Incentives
BRIDGEPORT TOD DEVELOPMENT
26. Major Projects
• Harding High School
• Seaview Complete Street
• Steelpointe Harbor
• Barnum Train Station
• Hospital Expansion
• Waterfront Plan
EAST BRIDGEPORT DEVELOPMENT PLAN
27. Station Timeline
• October 2010 – Funding Approved for Barnum
Station Feasibility Study
• July 2013 – Barnum Train Station Feasibility
Study Published
• Summer 2014 – Land Use and Transportation
Study
• August 2014 – Barnum Station Design Funding
Approved
• 2016 – Remediation
• 2016 – Acquisition
• Anticipated 2019 – Start of Station construction
• Anticipated 2021 – Start of Station operations
BARNUM STATION TOD
28. Vacant Land
• 700 acre of vacant/underutilized land
• Current property taxes
$1 million annual
• As-Is Build Out Scenario
$3 million annual
• TOD Build Out Scenario
$10 million annual
BARNUM STATION TOD
29. Brownfields
• ¼ mile – 44 acres
on 34 brownfields
• ½ mile – 61 acres
on 40 brownfields
BARNUM STATION TOD
30. Jobs
• Over 4500 jobs in ½
mile radius
• Bridgeport Hospital
2600 employees
is expanding by more
than 40 percent
BARNUM STATION TOD
31. • Sustain the long-term vision and commitment to a
mixed-use Regional Center: trust the opportunity
1915-1945+
East Side
East
End
Mill
Hill
H
Steelpointe
Downtown
TODAY
photo
BARNUM STATION TOD | ECONOMIC REPOSITIONING
Setting up a new century of prosperity
32. What changes can we effect … and when?
Station
opening
2016 2020 2024 2028 2032
12
mos.
3 years 5-7 years 10-15 years
BARNUM STATION TOD | ECONOMIC REPOSITIONING
33. Unprecedented opportunities:
• New, faster transit service
• Large amount of available land –
unique along Northeast Corridor
in region
• Transformative potential for:
• Business/industry growth
• Job growth
• Workforce
attraction/retention
• Neighborhood revitalization
33
Within a 10-minute walk of the station…
Today* Opportunity
Employees 3,200 + 4,000-8,000
Businesses 180 + 100 or more
Housing Units 1,800 + 500-1,000
Residents 4,500 + 1,000-2,000
*Sources: ACS, ESRI
BARNUM STATION TOD
Barnum Station:
Connecticut’s Next Great Economic Growth Center
34. The vision: connecting neighborhoods to economic
opportunity – and to each other
Active, safe streets
Expanded workforce access
for established employers
PRELIMINARY SAMPLE CONCEPT – NOT A PROPOSAL
Synergies with downtown
and waterfront districts
BARNUM STATION TOD
35. The vision: connecting neighborhoods to economic
opportunity – and to each other
Active, safe streets
Expanded workforce access
for established employers
Revitalized
residential blocks
Signature
greenway
500+ new
housing units
PRELIMINARY SAMPLE CONCEPT – NOT A PROPOSAL
4,000+
new jobs
Synergies with downtown
and waterfront districts
BARNUM STATION TOD
45. Question 1:
•What were your community’s goals in seeking to
advance TOD?
•Economic development?
•Additional housing options?
•Additional neighborhood retail activity?
•Better transit and access?
•Better streets for peds and bikes?
46. Question 2:
•What are the primary challenges/barriers
you’ve faced? Have you been able to resolve
these?
•Community resistance to TOD?
•Funding for public infrastructure?
•Transit service upgrades?
•Market/developer interest?
47. Question 3:
•What were the “surprises/myths/
misconceptions” that would be relevant for other
communities and policy makers considering TOD?
•Planning process?
•Policy making?
•Establishing priorities?
•Funding and implementation?
48. Thank you!
Norman F. Cole, AICP | City of Stamford, Connecticut
Dean Mack | City of Bridgeport, Connecticut
George Proakis, AICP | City of Somerville, Massachusetts
Ben Carlson, LEED AP | Goody Clancy
Mitch Glass, ASLA, APA | Goody Clancy
