New urbanism project combines retail, residential space
San Juan may be getting a new housing project that will be off
the grid and self-sufficient in terms of power and heating.
New urbanism project combines retail, residential space
San Juan may be getting a new housing project that will be off the grid and self-sufficient in terms of power and heating.
The project makes sense for San Juan because the town has a clear sense of what it wants as a community in terms of development and is pursuing that, said Developer Tod duBois.
“I knew it would be easier to propose this type of project here. I’d seen other areas where this type of project has been very successful and the nice things about San Juan is that they have a clear sense of what they want. The general plan is real clear about what the city wants for its citizens,” duBois said. “The land was also available.”
The general plan supports new urbanism, a developing concept that uses mixed-use spaces.
duBois has proposed a project that will combine residential space with commercial. Some of the elements of his project will include a bed and breakfast, senior co-housing, an artisan wine tasting facility and artist workspace.
Part of what duBois does is work with a city to achieve their objectives, he said. San Juan is big on tourism, according to duBois, and that was something the citizens felt was lacking from the area so he decided to include more facilities for high-end tourism. His idea is to incorporate a bed and breakfast that would be able to accommodate high-end visitors, but at the same time house a small conference center.
Citizens indicated they wanted landmark architecture used as an element of the project on the west end of town. He came up with the architecture first, then figured out how to implement the design, duBois said. He chose a water tower and a barn as the landmarks. The water tower is particularly interesting because downstairs there will be a micro turbine that will be used for waste and heat recovery. Upstairs will be two rooms. The development will be able to produce its own heating. All of the rooms will be heated by this water-generating project. There will also be a solar heating grid to compliment the system.
duBois has never done a project quite like this before, but he said there are similar projects in Cotati, Sacramento and outside the state in Nevada and Colorado.
He has already met with citizens groups and the city council to discuss the project. The next phase is getting input from the planning commission and then it will be brought back to the city council for approval.
Patrick O’Donnell can be reached at po*******@pi**********.com.
