Why Build a Mixed-Use Development?

Mixed-Use Development is a term used to describe buildings that incorporate more than one type of occupancy. These types can include residential, office, retail, wholesale, and many others.

In the early parts of our history, mixed-use development was a very common form of construction commonly found on Main Street's in every town and city where a shopkeeper would have their residence immediately above their place of business.
With the invention of the motor car, the need to live in close proximity to your place of business diminished and thus the evolution of suburbia.

There are good and bad aspects of every type of development. We have all had the opportunity to experience the less positive aspects of surburban living as we sit idle in traffic during our daily commute. For those fortuntate to live in Teton Valley, this experience will be unfamiliar. And therein lies the key to the selection of Mixed-Use Development for this project.

Teton Valley is a place of extraordinary natural beauty. It is one of the last places in the US that does not 'feature' an interstate motorway connecting suburbia with various places of business. As members of the Teton Valley community, it is our responsibility to embrace the beauty and amenity available, and ensure that 'growth' is managed in a sustainable fashion.

There are a number of key sustainable benefits in building a Mixed-Use Development;

1. minimizing vehicle trips - by positioning commercial services within walking distance of home and businesses, people are less likely to use their car to run errands.


2. exercise - hopefully I haven't shocked anyone yet, however, reducing small vehicle trips lends itself to walking between errands, perhaps even using stairs, all simple forms of exercise that had been lost in our past car centered habits


3. communication - when we step out of the time capsule that is our SUV or truck we create the opportunity to meet/greet/communicate with our neighbors


4. safety/security - one less vehicle on the road is one less chance of a traffic accident, equally, buildings which feature a constant level of activity involving people moving in and around places of business provides an inherent level of surveillance.


5. carbon footprint - it took 5 points before I hit specificially on the 'green' stuff. A multi-storey building has a smaller footprint on the earth which reduces the amount of earth disturbed in construction and associated landscaping. These elements reduce the amount of heat that is rejected from impervious surfaces thereby reducing the contribution to global warming; also, multi-storey buildings offer energy efficiencies by integrating building systems and realising the compound benefit of successive insulated floors which ultimately reduces carbon emissions;


6. density - slightly higher densities provide the critical mass that our public infrastructure yearns for in an effort to support public transportation


7. ......many more......

So, these are some of the reasons to build a mixed-use development. There are a number of other benefits that we will talk about in future posts.