Building Healthy Places and the Bottom Line

The vast majority of development in the U.S. has occurred since World War II, and that development will double again by 2050. “We can do it the right way or the wrong way,” noted ULI Research Fellow Ed MacMahon at a salon hosted last month by the ULI Colorado Chapter. “Let’s make the healthier choice the easier choice.”

This opportunity to shape development projects and places in ways that improve the health of people and communities is the focus of the ULI Building Healthy Places Initiative, launched in July of 2013. The salon, which took place October 7 at the Alliance for Sustainable Colorado, highlighted recent publications and advisory activities that have come out of the initiative. McMahon kicked off the salon with a keynote presentation on the value proposition that healthy places and healthy projects can offer.

The U.S. spends more money than any other country on health care, but doesn’t get the best results. Of the factors that affect health outcomes, personal behavior and where people live have a greater impact than genetics. The development community can therefore affect people’s well-being in either a positive or negative way. For example, conventional development patterns often result in communities where walking is difficult, unpleasant, or essentially impossible. “We’ve been spending billions of dollars to put obstacles in the way of public health,” McMahon said. “We’ve designed physical activity out of our communities.”

Research demonstrates, however, that walkability and green space not only encourage residents to be more physically active, but also increase property values and attract tourists. “The future belongs to walkable, mixed use development because it produces more value for communities than segregated single use, drive only development,” McMahon asserted. One of the many examples he cited was a new urban format Waffle House in Fayetteville, AR, with three floors of housing on top, which is outperforming another Waffle House located on the interstate by producing more taxes and jobs per acre.

McMahon went on to share several ULI case studies of projects developed with health and wellness in mind, from the new book “Building for Wellness: The Business Case.” In each case, the market response exceeded the expectations of developers. Furthermore, the health promoting features tended to be a small part of the overall cost, and these upfront costs proved to be well worth the expense. Many of the projects addressed health through relatively inexpensive programming and activities. For example, ECO Modern Flats, a rehab of a 1960s apartment complex in Fayetteville, implemented a nonsmoking policy, strictly enforced, both indoors and outside. Although this policy was extremely controversial at first, lease rates now exceed the market average, and the turnover rate is below market average.

Other case studies that McMahon presented included the master planned Grow Community on Bainbridge Island in Washington State, where no cars are allowed within the site, and Via6, a multifamily housing project in Seattle designed specifically for bicyclists.

Following McMahon’s keynote presentation, ULI Colorado Executive Director Michael Leccese introduced a panel discussion on the Chapter’s first two Building Healthy Places Workshops held earlier this summer, which were funded by a grant from the Colorado Health Foundation. Panelists had participated in these workshops and included Jill Klosterman, Housing Director, Eagle County; Kimball Crangle, Colorado Market President, Gorman & Company; Carl Koelbel, Acquisitions and Development, Koelbel & Co.; Josh Radoff, Co-founder & Principal, YR&G; and Tim Watkins, Senior City Planner, City and County of Denver Community Planning and Development.

The first workshop took place in Edwards, CO, in June and focused on Lake Creek Village, which was developed in the early 1990’s as workforce housing. Although originally intended for seasonal workers, the nearly 1,000 residents now only sign year-long leases and almost half of the residents are children. While the site offers beautiful vistas, it lacks walking paths and, aside from “one tiny, neglected playground,” amenities that engage the community. “With this many kids and either single parents or dual parents that are working one, two, three jobs throughout the valley, you had this sense of disconnection,” observed Kimble Crangle.

“Kids were either staying inside, or you had parents who were leaving the site to go to other areas that have amenities.”

The County was able to refinance the property at the end of 2012, which created some cash flow, and saw the Building Healthy Places Workshop as an opportunity to be thoughtful about how to re-invest the dollars in the community. In addition to investing in infrastructure such as a soccer field and a system of walking paths that connect various destinations, the workshop focused on recommendations related to programming, such as offering activities and classes in a club house. The panel also discussed the possibility of tapping into resident leaders who could provide peer-to-peer support and champion health efforts, for example through walking and biking clubs.

The second workshop took place in July and focused on the future commuter rail station at 40th and Colorado. The area includes well-established industrial users, but has also experienced residential growth. Panelists agreed the new commuter rail line will transform the area, but a major challenge is the current lack of basic infrastructure such as sidewalks and bike lanes. ”Focus really needs to be placed on pedestrian connectivity and bicycle connectivity to the station, or it will remain an island,” noted Carl Koebel. “Fairly modest infrastructure improvements would have a profound impact.”

The industrial nature of the area also presents both challenges and opportunities. “How do you make it not just any other mixed-use TOD in America?” asked Josh Radoff. “Where is the place in Denver for keeping some of the light industrial, creative class, maker economy?” The workshop identified strategies for incentivizing a different type of light industrial that is less highway oriented, such as rezoning to IMX, which would allow for mixed use, residential, commercial, and light industrial, but prevent heavy industrial and marijuana grow operations, which have proliferated in industrial areas since the passage of Colorado’s Amendment 64 in 2012. Other strategies included forming a business improvement district or urban renewal authority, or using tax increment financing to invest in sidewalks, lighting, and streetscaping that would make the area more walkable.

Anne Warhover, president and CEO of the Colorado Health Foundation, capped off the salon with a brief update about the Foundation’s Healthy Places: Designing an Active Colorado initiative, which aims to reduce obesity by fostering a built environment that supports and encourages active living. Using ULI panel recommendations coupled with community input, the southeast portion of Arvada (a suburb in northwest metro Denver), Lamar (a small, rural town in southeastern Colorado) and Westwood (an urban neighborhood in southwest Denver) are working to improve public health through reimaging the built environment. “Having ULI support building healthy places is an absolute dream come true for the Foundation,” Warhover said. “We always have to rely on the private sector to take something to scale, to make it accessible and available to all people.”

Finally, ULI Colorado Director Kacey Wilkins announced that the Chapter is accepting applications for a second round of Building Healthy Places Workshops. The deadline to apply is Friday, December 12, 2014. Two finalists will be selected and notified by Friday, January 19, 2015 ,after site visits and interviews with the finalists. The Building Healthy Places Workshops will take place in the spring of 2015. Communities will receive a brief written report in PDF format within 30 days of the panel. For more information, visit ULI Colorado’s Building Healthy Places Webpage.