Svigals + Partners’ Post

Why do Elders move out of the community? It's often not because they want to, but because of reasons like housing opportunities and proximity to healthcare services. In a $20 million initiative, the Aroland First Nation is investing in its first Elders Lodge. The Elder Lodge's building design is planned to provide comfort and independence. Each of the 20 units will have its washroom, kitchen, and living area. The rest of the building will feature a shared common area, dining room, fitness room, craft room, nursing station, and kitchen space. The Aroland First Nation is a remote community. However, creating infrastructure, such as the Elders Lodge, enables members to stay connected and close to come as they age in place. Taking care of the older generations is an important community value in First Nations. A recent GDC project focused on the needs of Elders; the GDC building in Prince Rupert recently had renovations to make the seniors centre more accessible for those who use it. Read the full story: https://lnkd.in/g9ryx4sF

Since the last First & Grandview Open House in June, our planning team has been hard at work, reviewing your feedback on the Vision Statement and Guiding Principles, Planning Framework, and Streetscape Studies.   We are excited to invite you to our third Open House, on Thursday, August 22nd, 5:00 pm-7:00 pm at 1515 Goodale Blvd.   At this Open House, we will review studies focused on Community Life: Spaces, Places, and Parking. Join us as our consultant team presents their further planning studies, along with revisions to the plan’s Vision Statement and Guiding Principles, and other community feedback from Open House #2.   We invite community members to gather starting at 5:00 pm, with a brief orientation/presentation regarding the evening’s materials starting at approximately 5:15 pm, followed by time to visit and review display boards and converse with the planning team and City staff through 7:00 pm.   Business/property owners and residents residing in or near the district are invited to arrive early to interact with the planning team, starting at 4:00 pm.   Parking is available along Glendale with overflow parking available at Wyman Woods. #GrandviewHeights #planninganddevelopment #economicdevelopment

PSA: Chicago is FINALLY getting more public restrooms! The city confirmed that JCDecaux is to install 4️⃣ high-quality public restrooms, which are “ready for installation." 🏢 🌇 City Officials will pick locations based on central and highly trafficked neighborhoods and more details will be released soon, including timelines for when the bathrooms will be installed! ✅ Where do you think there needs to be a public restroom installed? Comment below: Compass #chicago #newsfeed #NewsUpdate #PublicHealth #parks #chicagorealestate #chicagonews #Update #PSA #chicagoland #realestateexpert #realtor #realtorlife #publicrelations

Washington, D.C., is making significant strides in revitalizing Chinatown by introducing the "Safe Commercial Corridor Hub" program. This initiative is a boost for public safety and a boon for businesses and commercial real estate in the area. 🔹 Decrease in Crime Rates: Since the launch of the Safe Commercial Corridor Hub, there has been a notable decrease in crime within the vicinity of Capital One Arena—45% within a 1000-foot radius! This has instilled a greater sense of security among residents and tourists, making Chinatown a more attractive location for businesses. 🔹 Enhanced Community Support: The hub provides integrated services addressing homelessness, mental health, and substance abuse, directly supporting the local nightlife and businesses. Trained community safety ambassadors actively engage with the community, handling everything from minor disturbances to emergency situations, ensuring a prompt and coordinated response. 🔹 Positive Business Outlook: With improved safety and dedicated support, businesses are experiencing a more stable and predictable environment conducive to growth. This initiative retains existing businesses and attracts new investments to the area, enhancing the overall commercial real estate market. Chinatown's transformation highlights the potential of focused urban management and community engagement to foster safer, thriving commercial districts. It's a model worth watching! #UrbanRevitalization #CommercialRealEstate #PublicSafety #ChinatownDC #BusinessDevelopment

Here is a very thoughtful letter from Town of Huntington Supervisor Ed Smyth on the Melville redevelopment plans that are undergoing public hearings tonight, next week and next month. We have spoken to a number of local residents and property owners that want to see changes to the Melville corridor and are open to many of the zoning recommendations. We are of the understanding that the Town of Huntington will comply with the NYS SEQRA process on this rezoning initiative. It is also wise that the Town put in place a cap on the number of units that can be built which has been successful in other communities. It is our hope that whatever plan is advanced after robust public input that 1) a mixed use town center with details that make it a true public space and destination; 2) A range of housing options are part of the plan including a priority for needed affordable housing units; and 3) the environmental review process follows all applicable laws in conformance with SEQRA; 4) the public process continue to build up trust with the community that is most impacted. Residents and business owners in the Melville area should be prioritized and voices from other far flung areas (including our organization) should have less influence. Lastly we hope that the extreme voices pro or con do not dominate local residents and business owners who are seeking to listen, compromise and come up with the best solution for their community. Listening is a good thing and an important step to building trust. There is a great deal of misinformation out there that has been driven largely as a reaction to NYS, NYC and regional efforts to rezone properties by overtaking home rule. This project has NOTHING to do with any of those agendas and is in the process of being planned locally. We would encourage Melville residents and business owners to participate in the sessions which are attached in the article. https://lnkd.in/eBEsfzyA

Anyone who's worked in the open spaces sector knows that developing benchmarks for open spaces and achieving consensus is no small task. In recent years, in an effort to add nuance to historic benchmarks like 2.83 hectares per 1,000 people and to consider factors like quality and accessibility (which are very important!), we've swung to the other extreme, where the required quantum of open space has taken a back seat. This approach can be quite misleading because it might suggest that the same amount of open space is needed whether 100 people or 100,000 people are in a given area, as long as everyone has access to some kind of open space. This graphic we developed during Covid demonstrates that it's crucial to provide enough open space proportional to the population, while making sure that they are high quality and are well-connected. Quality and accessibility should complement our open space network, not serve as a substitute for it. This will ensure our places are resilient and continue to have a high standard of living. #openspaceplanning #socialinfrastructure

More on open space provisioning/benchmarking In many growth areas, and in some urban areas with growing populations, there just isn't the quality public open space in proximity (usually around 200m without barriers in high density, and 400 to 800m in low to medium density) to service the future growing population (or even the existing in some cases). When planning for what will go into masterplans and proposals for these new and growing areas - just what is the benchmark we should apply? Depends of course on a range of factors, but one population-based benchmark we've been applying at Cred Consulting lately is one we developed during the Covid pandemic - when we saw so many communities, particularly in Western Sydney, who simply couldn't walk to a park within 800m. Or the ones they could access were tiny and unembellished. We worked out “How many people can you fit into a 0.5ha park standing 1.5m apart" While we know capacity benchmarking is also about quality and design, we worked out that you can fit just under 1,100 in a 0.5ha park (or 2,200 people in a 1ha park). If we want everyone to be able to use their local parks, or if we are faced with a disaster requiring evacuation, or another pandemic, then there probably needs to be enough open space nearby that the local community can literally can fit in. And let's face it, the higher the density of house, the more people living in smaller areas, the more important our public open spaces are for our health, climate and economy. Jen Guice Abinaya Rajavelu Sebastian Pfautsch GAICD Jeremy Gill Fiona Morrison Bec Watson Beck Dawson Julia Miller-Randle Elise O'Ryan Libby G. Matt Coggan Heather Nesbitt

The largest development by the State of California just opened its doors in #Sacramento this month. Spanning an impressive 1.25 million square feet across 17 acres, the May S. Lee State Office Complex will be a hub for 5,000 state workers. The $1.03 billion project includes four (7-11 story) #office buildings on the corner of 7th & Richards north of downtown across the street from Township 9. As the state commits to returning employees to the office at least twice a week starting this summer, workers from the Department of Tax and Fee Administration to the Department of Health Care Access and Information will work out of these brand new buildings. The complex includes #amenities such as a center court plaza, skyways connecting some of the spaces, a dining area, gym, daycare center, and auditorium. State workers will begin moving into the buildings in May with full occupancy expected by July. The project came in ahead of schedule and under budget. It is part of DGS' plan to renovate and replace older state office buildings in the Sacramento region (and also includes the vacating of leased space in privately owned buildings). https://lnkd.in/gtBHQA5V #commercialrealestate #workplacetrends #futureofoffice #CRE #officespace #futureofwork #officespace #officedesign #trends #officemarket

$33.9M HQ Coming for Social Services Agency REAL ESTATE: SBCS Serves South Bay Families By Ray Huard CHULA VISTA – A social services agency that serves more than 50,000 people annually throughout San Diego County is building a $33.9 million project in Chula Vista that will serve as its new headquarters and expand the services it offers. Designed by Tucker Sadler Architects, based in downtown San Diego, the 61,000-square-foot building at 318 Fourth Ave. will allow SBCS, formerly South Bay Community Services, to consolidate offices that are now spread throughout South County. “I’ve got people stashed all over the place here in South Bay,” said Kathyrn Lembo, CEO of SBCS. “This building will enable us to serve at least an additional 10,000 people a year.” Founded in 1971 as a drop-in center for teens struggling with substance abuse, SBCS has grown to have a staff of nearly 500 offering an array of social services. For nearly a decade, SBCS has used what had been a 6,000-square-foot Chula Vista house at 430 F St. as its headquarters, but the building has been so crammed that some of its staff must work out of garages, Lembo said. When the new building is finished in May 2025, about 300 to 350 of the 500-person SBCS staff will move in with the rest stationed elsewhere in the county. The new four-story building will have a steel and glass façade that allows sunlight to flood the interior, a dramatic change for some workers who’ve been working in windowless rooms, Lembo said. Tucker Sadler CEO Greg Mueller said that the design of the new building is meant to reflect the mission of SBCS, which “is about changing people’s lives, not just for the moment, but setting them up for their future and to give a positive outlook.” “The challenge was to put everything that South Bay Communities does so well into a design,” Mueller said. https://lnkd.in/dhiuGZdt #construction #commercialrealestate #socialservices

The September 6th Property Reporter news article discussing the High Streets (Designation, Review and Improvement Plan) Bill - penned by Catherine Pollard - provides a thorough review of opinions, policy, and evidence concerning the #permacrisis impacting the #vitality and #viability of #highstreets and #towncentres. It highlights the effects of policy and planning decisions that have hindered councils' control over land use, and explores how the retail landscape can (and should) benefit from mixed uses, including leisure facilities and office and residential spaces, to increase footfall and create a safer environment during both day and night. Pollard asks, "Can a Bill of this nature be progressed, or are there better opportunities to enhance the town centres? Either way, the next government must find a solution to raising footfall, both during the day and into the evening, and create vibrant high streets and town centres." As I expressed in an opinion piece for the Institute of Place Management blog, my answer to this question is based on High Streets Task Force research, which highlights that legislative efforts should not only support councils' control over improvement plans but also establish ways for organic, place-based partnerships to emerge in collaboration with councils. This approach ensures that any regeneration effort is relevant to the place it serves. Rather than adopting a one-size-fits-all legislative framework that promotes top-down approaches and empowers councils without equipping them to exercise that power effectively - an approach endorsed by the aforementioned High Streets Bill, which could result in short-sighted interventions - policies should foster collaboration between councils and local stakeholders. This would result in more tailored and representative revitalisation efforts. This grassroots, place-governance model is more likely to achieve gradual - yet structural - #impact on the long-term #vibrancy of high streets and town centres than top-down efforts alone. In short, the key lies in supporting the #organisationalculture and #placebasedfocus of #partnerships to strengthen councils' capacity and foster #resilience. https://lnkd.in/dWmWAWYk