Three Ways Mixed-Use Design Can Grow Thriving Communities

Buildings can be catalysts in creating neighborhoods ideally suited for living, working, and playing. 

The idea of walkable, thriving neighborhoods and communities where residents can live, work, and play is more than an aspirational dream for many community developments throughout the country. Today, architects, developers, and city planners are tackling buildings as catalysts for neighborhood transformations to create the types of communities people can prosper in.

Boston’s North Station is a prime example of the potential for this kind of transformation. Centered around a transit hub, the neighborhood flourished in part because of mixed-used buildings like the Avalon North Station building, designed by CBT Architects, that seek to revive underutilized land.

The LEED Silver-certified 38-story mixed-use building in downtown Boston helped drive the growing popularity of the neighborhood. Through a design-assist-build process, Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope (OBE) devised solutions that would ensure residents are comfortable in their homes while giving them access to all the conveniences the new neighborhood would offer. For example, OBE’s custom Signature Series Unit Wall gives residents sweeping views of downtown Boston while providing sound attenuation and meeting wind-load requirements, and Signature Series Lap fixed and operable windows provide insulation using thermal break technology. Terra Swing 62E doors allow access to the building’s many amenities.

Buildings like this ensure quality of life for residents of mixed-use communities, with plenty of natural light, optimal ventilation, unencumbered views, and of course community amenities. These neighborhoods that garner “it” status seemingly overnight (a few short years in development terms), have several key characteristics in common:

Access to transit

It goes without saying that a neighborhood that residents and visitors have a hard time accessing will have a hard time succeeding. Proximity to transit, preferably multiple modalities, is a key feature of communities that bring in visitors to create vibrant streets, but also allow residents to easily move in and out for work and leisure.

Amenities

Amenities should go beyond a nice building fitness center (although that’s also welcome). Communities that thrive often support local entrepreneurs who can bring a variety of restaurants, entertainment, boutiques, and services. Having a hair salon near your local grocer means losing fewer residents to sprawling suburban plazas while attracting non-residents to the neighborhood for goods and services. Avalon North Station includes a public pedestrian mall on the ground floor with more than 3,500 square feet of retail space, giving residents access to a variety of conveniences. Accessed through the podium entry level outfitted with OBE’s Reliance Curtain Wall and medium-stile entrance doors, the addition allows the mixed-use project to accomplish its goal as a change agent in the neighborhood.

Residential options

It’s difficult to create live/work/play spaces without the “live” component. Allowing people to live in the areas that are being developed with amenities is a critical component to any transformation. Often these multifamily units can provide more affordable housing options in dense urban markets and can leverage the space to add an abundance of housing units with retail on lower levels so the buildings are integrated into the neighborhood. Using a variety of interior glass doors, glass handrails, and balcony glass rails provided by OBE, Avalon North Station created open designs to amplify space and bring light into the building’s units.

Combining convenience, accessibility, amenities, and livability may seem like a tall task, but if you look at Boston’s North Station neighborhood as an example, five years can mean a transformation from an occasional game-night hub to a thriving year-round community.