Knowledge Gained

It has been a long journey but a rewarding one. Even though it has been challenging, I have somehow managed to stay the course. I guess I have somehow stuck around just because the industry is so vast and interesting. As a young designer and builder coming up, I always marveled at those that could quickly break down a site or a project. They could see intricate aspects in great detail and discern feasibility or compatibility. I always wanted to get to that point. Maybe that is all that I have been chasing, if I have been really chasing anything at all. I always wanted to simply look at something and have an understanding to what it is and what it can become.

I presume that I have always had some positive predisposition toward the built environment. Being immersed in the city and the environment seems so natural to me. It is so much more fun to head out for a brisk walk and look around and explore possibilities. Many times I don’t even consider the people as they navigate their own ways. They are all apart of the grand whole that is the accumulated layers of what humans have constructed.

I can now look at a lot or building and understand the zoning and district aspects. I saw a site today that was small but promising, then realized that it is within a historic district. I saw another and understood that it had special conditions associated with it. I love having that understanding. I do not love it because I am going to eventually put that knowledge into action, I love it because it is so fascinating.

I saw a vacant lot the other day and it looked great. It was a strange shape but I tinkered with a form in my mind. A savvy developer once told me “if the site is vacant for a time, there is a reason for it.” I love those words and I have held them close ever since. I also know that the problems that come along with the land are most often solvable, with some hard work and a little extra funding.

There is the additional research that I enjoy. I have seen sites that I think should not be for sale. One is the future site for a city fire station but the real estate agent is saying that it is prime for a single family home to be built. Maybe the agent does not know about it, but they should. Another lot was the future merge lane for a highway expansion. It is so difficult for consumers to weave through the various layers of urban fabric to arrive at a buildable lot that is actually buildable!

What I have found is that the small sites are either on strange shaped lots with drastic slope conditions, lack utility compatibility (typically a guestimate that the depressed lot will not be able to get sewer line connectivity to the main), or are have other adverse conditions like neighborhood dilapidation.

Another developer once remarked that funding was more available for larger projects. I understand that but I believe he left out the aspect of developer experience. His first project was a large corporate office building which he was able to build because he had a long term lease signed with the city. There are so many ways to the top of the mountain!

It is tough to not let your emotions get in the way of your choices. I want to build right here in my community but I now understand that there are so many difficulties to get there. It is interesting that it is probably more feasible for larger developers to build in the tougher neighborhoods and easier for a young developer to build in the urban center. That concept is based upon security. With so many issues arising, you have to envision the big picture once the project is done.

Fortunately, through years of hard work and researching, those elements are slowly falling into place. The exciting part is that there is always so much more to learn on this adventure. The more knowledge that is earned allows you to see a project especially if your mind has the ability to visualize a project and change form at the snap of a finger. There is great value in that: having the ability to see things that are yet to exist. Now it is simply putting that knowledge into action.