Alternatives to Mixed-Use Cafritz Development?
June 26th, 2007 | by Chris Ellepola | Published in Cafritz Property
The third meeting for the Cafritz Property was a summary of community input from the previous first two meetings that the developer found to be salient (as were reported in our previous Cafritz post). A large obvious chunk of public opinion that was not reported back at all was the interest of many citizens to keep the property undeveloped, or to not pursue changing existing zoning to accommodate mixed use. This is pragmatically to be expected of a developer pursuing mixed use in the first place. However it is disappointing that the Cafritz’s who boast of interest in community wishes did not note the expressed public interest in single-family residential in the wrap-up meeting and explain why this avenue is not being pursued.
When asked outright about single-family residential, the developer has always been quick to direct attention back to a purported great need and benefit for more mixed-use in the area. The benefit of mixed-used development could very well prove to be true. It would be satisfying to hear the exact reasons why the Cafritz Team appears to see more merit in mixed-use over single-family residential for current residents. The developer obviously has no intention of making a single-family residential development if they can get a zoning change.
It could be that pursuing a mixed-use ideal is meeting halfway those in the community who want only single-family homes. This post is largely intended to direct attention to a post on the Route 1 Growth blog. It discusses the pros and cons of the current direction of the Cafritz Property development, and its hypothetical alternatives.
