Question: How do you engineer a grading plan with a cut-fill balance when designing a site around unearthed historic railroad tracks, existing active railroad tracks, existing high voltage transmission towers and two existing historic building structures?
Answer: You don’t!
When the 11-acre site of the historic Richmond Steel buildings was developed into a movie theatre with over 650 new parking spaces, existing buildings and rail tracks were highlighted to earn state and federal historic tax credits, and several thousand cubic yards of dirt had to be hauled off to effectively drain the site.
One of the greatest challenges with redevelopment is working within the constraints of the existing conditions. Rehab and infill sites are surrounded on all sides and often encompass fixed objects, where elevations and site improvements must be designed to fit into the existing framework. This is evident as you view your urban surroundings and notice sidewalks and entrances that are warped beyond belief as well as sites with unusual grade changes, retaining walls and other oddities. These items were likely retrofits and rehabs that were forced into unique configurations to meld with existing features. Storm sewer and utility connections are also limited by what existing infrastructure has to offer, providing another unique set of challenges when designing infrastructure. Including architects and engineers on your team who have the experience and expertise required to successfully deliver re-development projects helps to ensure the ultimate quality of the re-development.
Tags: land development, redevelopment
Posted in Urban Redevelopment
Sustainable…LEED…green…LID…these terms have become industry marketing buzzwords, but what are their true meanings? Many who have pondered the importance of these concepts will quickly understand that urban re-development and urban infill development are, by their nature, the most low impact types of land development available.
Rehabilitation of an existing structure or the re-development of property that has already undergone some use will decrease the need for urban sprawl, deforestation and other impacts to our natural surroundings.
I’ll use two examples:
- In a dense urban setting sits a half-acre infill lot. The site is slated for a 30-unit apartment building with a large retaining wall. Due to the infill nature of the site, it will never provide substantial wildlife habitat or public recreation opportunities. This site is a prime candidate for a low impact development project. By putting 30 units on this parcel, the demand for a new green-field suburban apartment complex is decreased, replaced instead by a housing option that does not require deforestation or impacts to farmland.
- A five-acre site in an existing urban industrial park has a creek running right through the middle of it. The owner desires to impact the creek by installing 200 linear feet of culvert pipe in order to create vehicular access to the opposite half of the site, which is currently inaccessible.
Allowing the owner to improve his already developed site in the City helps reduce the demand for a new suburban industrial complex outside of the City’s current development footprint.
Land development is necessary for the growth of society, yet any new development that is not re-development or urban infill development will require deforestation and/or other negative impacts to previously untouched natural environments. Using every possible opportunity to recycle land that has already undergone some type of development allows us to continue development without increasing our impact on the natural environments that we cherish.
Tags: infill, land development, redevelopment
Posted in Urban Redevelopment
Urban infill and re-development projects require special means of minimizing increases in stormwater flow is to implement innovative sustainable design techniques to increase pervious area and improve rainwater retention. Projects like Timmons Group’s LEED® Gold certified 1050 K Street project in DC use green roofs, planter beds and rainwater harvesting to meet city code and minimize impact to the combined sewer system.
Projects that involve large-scale infrastructure updates are often required to separate the storm and sanitary sewers as the project progresses. Rocketts Landing in Richmond, Virginia, is a good example of this. In this case, the existing combined sewer system was designated solely for stormwater runoff, and a separate sanitary sewer system was created by constructing new sanitary mains and connections. Stormwater runoff was treated on site and discharged directly to the James River, while the sanitary sewage was directed to the treatment plant.
Combined sewer systems do have one benefit from a development standpoint, in that most local jurisdictions, as well as state and federal codes, do not require stormwater quality control since the stormwater runoff flows to a municipal treatment plant. In addition, for projects in localities that control stormwater quantity, previously mentioned sustainable design techniques may be implemented to eliminate any stormwater increases; thus, the end result can be that stormwater management is not required at all.
Tags: combined sewer, infill, land development, sanitary sewer, Stormwater Management
Posted in Urban Redevelopment