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CONSTRUCTION THREAD: Verdae


g-man430

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New apartment complex slated for Verdae at the intersection of Rocky Slope and Woodruff Roads: http://www.greenvill...oodruffRoad.pdf

Wow, this is the second apartment complex proposed for Verdae property along Woodruff Rd! I like that it will be accessed from Rocky Slope.

I dislike their site plan. They need more presence on Rocky Slope.

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This is one of the two upcoming apartment projects right?

I believe so. It's the same site where the town-homes/apartments were supposed to get built a few years ago but never did. The only thing that got built was the building that looks like a very small house.

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Haven't visited this thread in a while. Kind of became resigned to all the watering down of the architectural standards on the houses being built in the neighborhood. Then the signs along Rocky Slope showed up and found out about the planned Tapestry Park at Verdae apartments. None of the residents were even given a courtesy notification about this project by Verdae. I looked at the proposal that was supposed to go before the planning commission in February (and has now been delayed twice - probably as a result of strong resident opposition) and was totally floored. The plans call for a typical, garden style apartment complex. It is totally a type of typical suburban sprawl development. It has only one entrance to the complex, that is GATED, and then a parking lot winding around a cluster of apartment buildings. There is no connectivity to the rest of the development. It is isolated. No street grid meaning all traffic has no alternative except to be funneled onto Rocky Slope Road. Totally NOT new urban. No one at Verdae knows what TND or New Urbanism is, or they just don't care. It's really, really frustrating. The residents are very upset over this and we are once again meeting. However, we are a larger group now that we have more residents. We have met with Verdae twice, and also had a meeting with members of the Verdae Development board and the Hollingsworth Funds board, all to no avail. They are marketing and selling Hollingsworth Park as a TND, but unfortunately, that is not what the buyer is getting. Trust me, they have a fight on their hands. We have appealed to them directly, and as usual, they are not listening. Next stop, city officials. A public campaign is not out of the question. We plan to bring in some consultants who actually KNOW something about traditional neighborhood development instead of the idiots at Verdae. Don't know if we will be successful, but we will try.

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Haven't visited this thread in a while. Kind of became resigned to all the watering down of the architectural standards on the houses being built in the neighborhood. Then the signs along Rocky Slope showed up and found out about the planned Tapestry Park at Verdae apartments. None of the residents were even given a courtesy notification about this project by Verdae. I looked at the proposal that was supposed to go before the planning commission in February (and has now been delayed twice - probably as a result of strong resident opposition) and was totally floored. The plans call for a typical, garden style apartment complex. It is totally a type of typical suburban sprawl development. It has only one entrance to the complex, that is GATED, and then a parking lot winding around a cluster of apartment buildings. There is no connectivity to the rest of the development. It is isolated. No street grid meaning all traffic has no alternative except to be funneled onto Rocky Slope Road. Totally NOT new urban. No one at Verdae knows what TND or New Urbanism is, or they just don't care. It's really, really frustrating. The residents are very upset over this and we are once again meeting. However, we are a larger group now that we have more residents. We have met with Verdae twice, and also had a meeting with members of the Verdae Development board and the Hollingsworth Funds board, all to no avail. They are marketing and selling Hollingsworth Park as a TND, but unfortunately, that is not what the buyer is getting. Trust me, they have a fight on their hands. We have appealed to them directly, and as usual, they are not listening. Next stop, city officials. A public campaign is not out of the question. We plan to bring in some consultants who actually KNOW something about traditional neighborhood development instead of the idiots at Verdae. Don't know if we will be successful, but we will try.

I agree that this apartment complex is not appropriately laid out, and that gating it is not appropriate. Since the planning commission has already met on this matter, is your campaign too late? I hope not.

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Haven't visited this thread in a while. Kind of became resigned to all the watering down of the architectural standards on the houses being built in the neighborhood. Then the signs along Rocky Slope showed up and found out about the planned Tapestry Park at Verdae apartments. None of the residents were even given a courtesy notification about this project by Verdae. I looked at the proposal that was supposed to go before the planning commission in February (and has now been delayed twice - probably as a result of strong resident opposition) and was totally floored. The plans call for a typical, garden style apartment complex. It is totally a type of typical suburban sprawl development. It has only one entrance to the complex, that is GATED, and then a parking lot winding around a cluster of apartment buildings. There is no connectivity to the rest of the development. It is isolated. No street grid meaning all traffic has no alternative except to be funneled onto Rocky Slope Road. Totally NOT new urban. No one at Verdae knows what TND or New Urbanism is, or they just don't care. It's really, really frustrating. The residents are very upset over this and we are once again meeting. However, we are a larger group now that we have more residents. We have met with Verdae twice, and also had a meeting with members of the Verdae Development board and the Hollingsworth Funds board, all to no avail. They are marketing and selling Hollingsworth Park as a TND, but unfortunately, that is not what the buyer is getting. Trust me, they have a fight on their hands. We have appealed to them directly, and as usual, they are not listening. Next stop, city officials. A public campaign is not out of the question. We plan to bring in some consultants who actually KNOW something about traditional neighborhood development instead of the idiots at Verdae. Don't know if we will be successful, but we will try.

Best of luck to you. From the planned apartments to the gated McMansion section, Verdae is falling far short of the "urban" node most thought we were getting.

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Best of luck to you. From the planned apartments to the gated McMansion section, Verdae is falling far short of the "urban" node most thought we were getting.

There's nothing McMansion-ish about the Manor section. It's not great urban form to have it gated, but it's nothing new to the Verdae concept.

Verdae is in its infacy. The apartment arrangement is not ideal, but it's a bit extreme to write off an entire 1,100 acre development because of 17 acres of apartments. If it's a sign of what is to come, then we may have a problem. But, at this point, it remains to be seen.

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The retail/commercial development continues to progress across from Legacy Park. You'll notice the dental office going up on the right-hand side.

7171873224_20ff352430.jpg

Spartan, I think you'll like the quality of the buildings being built in the retail phase. Nothing is being done cheaply, and details are not being spared.

7171876884_480b450093.jpg

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Unfortunately, it is a sign of what's to come. A lot of the problem lies with the leader of Verdae Development, Rick Sumerel. He has no appreciation for New Urbanism. It is only a marketing tool in his eyes. The watered down architecture came first. Now the apartments. I don't know what is next. R.S. is an opportunist and doesn't have the vision needed to make Holliingworth Park what it could be.

http://bettercities.net/article/homeowners-fight-keep-tnd-course-18269

There's nothing McMansion-ish about the Manor section. It's not great urban form to have it gated, but it's nothing new to the Verdae concept.

Verdae is in its infacy. The apartment arrangement is not ideal, but it's a bit extreme to write off an entire 1,100 acre development because of 17 acres of apartments. If it's a sign of what is to come, then we may have a problem. But, at this point, it remains to be seen.

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Here is a link to a copy of a recent article describing our difficulties with Verdae from the June issue of Better! Cities and Towns. Contrast this with the fluff piece written by a freelancer for the New York Times. That writer, Jaime Duffy, interviewed me for the article but did not include any of the controversy or mention any of the resident displeasure or opposition to the change in architectural standards and apartments.

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Unfortunately, it is a sign of what's to come. A lot of the problem lies with the leader of Verdae Development, Rick Sumerel. He has no appreciation for New Urbanism. It is only a marketing tool in his eyes. The watered down architecture came first. Now the apartments. I don't know what is next. R.S. is an opportunist and doesn't have the vision needed to make Holliingworth Park what it could be.

http://bettercities.net/article/homeowners-fight-keep-tnd-course-18269

Very to sad to see this, but not shocked.

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New Urbanism is a ruse and a marketing ploy, itself. Greedy developers can put multiple homes on tiny lots, all under the guise of "environmentalism" "smaller carbon footprint", etc. while buyers who are oriented towards this type of thinking can feel good themselves by doing their part to be "green." It's greed placating guilt. A win/win.

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New Urbanism is a ruse and a marketing ploy, itself. Greedy developers can put multiple homes on tiny lots, all under the guise of "environmentalism" "smaller carbon footprint", etc. while buyers who are oriented towards this type of thinking can feel good themselves by doing their part to be "green." It's greed placating guilt. A win/win.

Wow, this is one of the more cynical/ignorant posts I've read in quite a while. You can criticize aspects of New Urbanism movement, such as the tendency to focus on greenfield sites or build developments that are too expensive to support a true mixed-income population, but the principles of New Urbanism are solid. If you don't care about suburban sprawl and all the economic/environmental costs that go along with it, that's fine. Just own up to it rather than insulting thousands of people who you don't know a thing about.

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