WSJ Magazine, a publication of the Wall Street Journal, has an interesting article about Amanda Burden, daughter of well-known socialite Babe Paley and director of city planning for New York. The magazine says she is spearheading Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s effort to rezone nearly a quarter of New York City and reclaim the city’s waterfront. Her populist achievements include zoning for new affordable housing in East Harlem, Brookyln and the South Bronx, as well as the massively popular High Line, an abandoned railroad track that has been transformed into a popular tourist destination in the meatpacking neighborhood.

New York City waterfront. Courtesy of photobucket.com

Local news sites/blogs Seattle’s Land Use Code, Publicola and Citytank have been having an ongoing discussion about plans for an upzone in the Roosevelt neighborhood of Seattle. Those commenting have argued over how much density is needed near the light rail station planned for Roosevelt. But — as at least one of those commenting pointed out — how about the stations themselves: Why aren’t more useful things offered at transit hubs? As DJC contributor Clair Enlow noted, the stations could be mobility hubs, where commuters could grab a pre-reserved bike or park one, line up a taxi for the other end of the ride or pick up pre-delivered groceries on the way back. It’s a kind of multi-modal switching platform, where transportation meets information technology, and people can connect with essential goods and services, she writes. What do you think? Could we be doing more with the stations and the parking lots surrounding them?

This rendering provided by Cascadia Center for Regional Development shows a concept for a transit hub at the South Transit Park and Ride. It accommodates shared vehicles and places for pickup of pre-ordered goods. Passengers can transfer from rail to bus and find retail shops. King County Metro's plans to redevelop the park and ride do not include commuter rail. The site is along 108th Avenue Northeast, west of Interstate 405 and north of state Route 520. Image courtesy of Veolia Transport

AvalonBay Communities is building the 204-unit Avalon Queen Anne, an apartment and retail property in Seattle's Uptown neighborhood. Studio 216 rendering, courtesy of AvalonBay Communities

Four years ago, some of us were reminded (again) that the greater Downtown Seattle housing boom isn’t a birthright. Even with apartments and condos somewhat countercyclical, the whole shebang can slow dramatically, or even stop. But wow, if you love to see Seattle growing and filling in, the fun times are back.

From Lower Queen Anne to Broadway to the far side of First Hill and the CBD, something like 2,300 housing units are under construction right now, many of which I walked by in a big loop today, confirming actual starts vs. mere fence and site prep. That’s less than half the peak volume for that area, but a very healthy number, particularly since most started in a short period. More than 2006, these homes tend to be for the middle income ranges.

A couple thousand units isn’t a massive addition for that area in the scheme of things, with around 60,000 residents already here. But it’s part of greater Downtown’s march toward the real citydom. Slowly more neighborhoods have active sidewalks. Some gaps in our smile (parking lots) are getting fixed.

“Real citydom” is a concept whose meaning and desirability are very personal and subjective. For example, some argue, perhaps rightly, that the “real” part takes a decade or two at least, so that the neighborhood and building have had time to grow and adapt beyond their original states. Or maybe it’s about how much varied stuff is within walking distance, preferably including some good takeout pizza. On the flip side, some people prefer surface parking, and “city” is a bad thing. My bias isn’t a simple as “more is better,” but that’s a good start.

The Terrazza “apodment” project on 11th by Seattle U is very impressive, and one of the starts confirmed today. Per a recent DJC article, the 56 units will average 180 square feet, and there will be no elevator or parking. This is a crucial piece of Seattle’s affordability puzzle. While these homes aren’t for everyone, here’s a way people can live in a central neighborhood without subsidy at a low cost. This lets us focus levy funds et al where they’re really needed. Seattle keeps a few more of our bohemians or low-wage workers, a crucial aspect of any city’s success.

On the same walk, it was also fun to see tourist season in full swing. No, seriously! It’s fun for one’s city to be a host, even when people walk slowly four abreast. It’s sort of like being complimented. The waterfront was full of people all the way to the Sculpture Park, even with this week’s new crop of cruise passengers mostly loaded already. At the park, with the temperature pushing 70, several of the loungers clung to tiny havens of shade, apparently moving every 15 minutes…

Another topic for another day: While greater Downtown is growing housing at a good clip, the region isn’t. Does this suggest a low risk of overbuilding?

A New York Times article says that preserving the High Line viaduct in New York as a public park revitalized that

Image courtesy of James Corner Field Operations

that the deluxe apartment buildings and hundreds of art galleries, restaurants and boutiques near the High Line make up for the $115 million the city has spent on the park and the deals it has made to encourage developers to build along the High Line without blocking out the sun.

Do you see any parallels with the High Line and plans for the Alaskan Way Viaduct in Seattle and Seattle’s Central Waterfront?

Photo courtesy of Iwan Baan

Mattel recently introduced an “Architect Barbie” doll and now it wants her to have her own digs, according to Mother Jones magazine’s online edition. So the toy maker teamed up with the American Institute of Architects to launch the Architect Barbie Dream House Design Competition.

The magazine says it doesn’t understand why Barbie doesn’t just design her own home since she’s an architect now. Maybe, it notes, she’s just been sitting by the pool and doing her nails while waiting for Tom Kundig to step in.

Newswise has an article about Mattel’s new “Architect Barbie.” She carries a hard hat and pink drawing tube and

is the 127th doll in the company’s “Barbie I Can Be…” series. The doll will be on the store shelves in August.

BIG, Martha Schwartz Landscape, Buro Happold , Speirs & Major, Lutzenberger & Lutzenberger, and Global Cultural Asset Management won the international

Image courtesy of BIG

Dan Bertolet of hugeasscity and PubliCola fame has started a new blog called Citytank. Its mission is “to propagate ideas that help fulfill the promise of cities to both expand the human spirit, and sustain a thriving

Courtesy of photobucket.com

It’s January 9 and the economy remains horrible. But doesn’t it feel like spring is in the air, and something is starting to happen?

Nationally, holiday sales figures were way up this season. The private sector added jobs in every month of 2010 (ok, at a slower rate than population growth). The financial and auto sectors have survived and even prospered to some degree, avoiding catastrophes that might have spread throughout our economy. In both residential and commercial real estate, for various reasons, there seem to be more deal-making and delaying and less foreclosing than was expected. Fundamentally, the US appears to have avoided a depression, and started to tick upward.

Locally, the return of apartment construction is great news, because each project is both a jobs machine and a tax revenue machine. It’s also related to population growth, which, along with business spending and jobs, is tied to filling up our glut of commercial space. It’ll take years to eat up our excess office space, but Seattle has more than its share of growing companies and organizations, and who knows, maybe things will recover more quickly than we’ve thought. And long before new buildings make sense, the moves of any down and recovery period are sure helping those of us who build renovations and tenant improvements. 

The Seattle area’s public capital spending is interesting. Some is getting cut, perhaps necessary but certainly a damper on jobs. But light rail is going strong. The 99 tunnel will (knock on wood) be a huge stimulus, with money already being spent. Say what you want about your preferred 99 option, but the tunnel is starting at a time when the construction industry badly needs a big project, and the public is getting pricing it’ll never see again.

Optimism isn’t just about feeling good…it’s an ingredient to recovery. Optimism is probably a big reason why consumer spending has risen so quickly. It’s helping companies choose to lease more space. It’s why apartments are breaking ground. There might even be a trend toward buying homes again, as suggested by this article (as they say, not a clear trend yet), and anecdotally by what seems to be a declining condo glut as fire sales continue. Much of the down economy has been money sitting on the sideline, and now a lot of that money is jumping in again.

Of course there’s plenty of reason for pessimism too. Due to the the wild stock gains of the past 23 months, it now seems like a riskier, moderate-upside time to buy stocks. Declining public spending is cutting jobs and probably doing more immediate and long-term damage than it’s saving. Foreclosures might still keep home prices down. Commodity prices have risen dramatically and, with the sharp rises of other economies, perhaps permanently diminished the US “birthright” of cheap stuff. The latter is a problem for the economy not because plastic lawn chairs and 3,000-calorie restaurant meals might cost a couple dollars more, but because a lot of commodity consumption is less flexible, and higher prices will, particularly in the short term, deduct money from the rest of people’s budgets. Of course it’s all the worse if you’re poor and the issue is the price of 600-calorie meals for your kids.

Yet things are looking up. In 2008 and early 2009 the issue was stemming the decline, and now the issue is the pace of recovery, both for the general economy and the A/E/C/RE industry.

That, plus the Seahawks, is why I’m smiling today.