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American Press
29-04-2025
- General
- American Press
Sara Judson column: Walkability Wizard to Wow on Wednesday
(Special to the American Press) By Sara Judson Walkability wizard, Jeff Speck, is coming to Lake Charles this Wednesday! The community is invited to a free talk tomorrow, April 30th, in the Contraband Room at the Lake Charles Event Center. Networking and meeting Jeff begins at 5pm followed by his talk from 5:30pm – 7pm. The author's 'bible' on how to make downtowns more walkable, Walkable City, will be available for sale and book signing from 7 – 7:30pm. Speck's session is coordinated by the Community Foundation of SWLA. The desire to make a community's downtown and beloved areas more walkable is a national phenomenon. Walkability is such a movement that Jeff Speck has focused his city planning on this topic for over a decade. Last May, a group involved with the Just Imagine SWLA 50 Year Resilience Plan attended the Congress for the New Urbanism in Cincinnati to receive an international award for the Just Imagine plan. The whole conference was exciting, and we all learned best practices to help SWLA implement the 11 catalytic projects in the Just Imagine plan, including the project on Strong Downtowns. One workshop was led by Jeff Speck. Each local who attended that session agreed that we need to bring him to SWLA! After coordinating with partners including the City of Lake Charles, Visit Lake Charles and the Community Foundation, it is happening tomorrow. He will physically walk around downtown and then drive him around a wider area to see how adjacent neighborhoods and parks connect with downtown. Then, he will present recommendations unique to Lake Charles and give us a roadmap to make them happen. The walkability concept continues to gain momentum and enthusiasm from people of all ages and stages. As word got around that Jeff Speck is coming to Lake Charles, I heard that Lake Charles native, Isabela Walkin, interviewed Jeff Speck in a podcast for her Public Policy Master's program at Georgetown. Of course, I listened! Their conversation centered around public policy concepts that are being implemented at both the local and national level to make walking easier, safer and more interesting. Did you know that adding 'street trees' that provide shade also make streets safer for pedestrians? I've listened to Isabela's interview with him and probably 5 other podcasts, too, because these achievable improvements and their benefits are fascinating. Jeff Speck is a rock star who helps cities increase their walkability with some easy fixes and ones that require longer term solutions. A book club made up of young adult women are so excited about enhancing walkability that they have read Walkable City already and are attending the session together. That really excited my now 60-year-old self to know that people in their 20s and 30s are engaging in their community to make a positive, lasting impact. That is what we strive to do at the Community Foundation! Strategies regarding creating successful downtowns were also highlighted at the Big Towns conference last week in Lafayette. A team of Community Foundation and City of Lake Charles planning and public works departments heard from speakers like Mayor Tim Kelly of Chattanooga and David Dixon, an Urban Places Fellow who helps cities create livable neighborhoods, vibrant civic spaces, and vital downtowns. They and others shared examples of cities who are making downtowns more walkable and connected, adding public green spaces, outdoor sidewalk dining, changes in parking requirements and locations, economic diversity and more. Many concepts working in other cities are recommendations in the Strong Downtowns project of the Just Imagine SWLA plan. Best of all, the Strong Downtowns recommendations are scalable to be guides for any of our communities in SWLA. I hope you, too, are excited about making streets more walkable and you'll come out on Walkable Wednesday! We'll be looking for you in the Lake Charles Event Center at 5pm tomorrow for some visiting before the Walkability conversation begins at 5:30pm. • Sara McLeod Judson is the CEO of the Community Foundation SWLA. She can be reached at 337-491-6688 or sjudson@
Daily Mail
21-04-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Historic US mall reimagined as affordable apartment complex
By America's oldest indoor shopping mall in Rhode Island has been transformed into affordable micro-lofts. Flipping the retail space at the Arcade Providence into homes has 'been a driver for economic recovery in Providence's Financial District', according to the architects. The national landmark was named one of the nation's finest commercial buildings and, after closing in 2008, it became endangered before the developer proposed the $7million reuse project. Many cities have found the flipping of buildings, such as this, have promoted a solution for economic recovery as well as satisfying the over-demand for urban housing, Congress for the New Urbanism wrote. The location provides young professionals the opportunity to live in a central location with rents that start at $550 per month. It has been described as an 'incubator for young professionals' by the designers Northeast Collaborative Architects. 'Providence has shown that bold vision and creative planning can be an economic boon to a city. From creating more downtown housing to providing retail space for local entrepreneurs, to rehabilitating a beautiful and historic building... the project is a great example of economic development that just works,' said Mayor Jorge Elorza. The 400 square foot spaces also promote start-up businesses. 'Many tenants are artisans, and the project functions as an incubator for young professionals,' according to Northeast Collaborative Architects. Even before opening back in 2012, the developer had 300 applicants for the building. One resident, Amy Henion, told CNBC: 'It's cool to be part of such a historic building and knowing that every single one of these units used to be a shop of some kind.' Henion, a 33-year-old graphic designer, had been living in the unit for two years and appreciated the easy access to amenities that it offered. 'You have access to amenities that you don't get if you're just living in a home in a suburb, like, if I want to get my hair cut, I can walk downstairs and get my hair cut,' she said. 'If I want to pick up lunch, I don't even have to leave the building, even if the weather outside is awful.' Not only can tenants get easy access to the businesses in the building, but they also have close access to Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design as well as thousands of jobs. Its central location allows for easy walkability for residents as well as easy transit options and bicycle storage. The lofts share a balcony walkway to promote socializing as well as community spaces, including a lounge, laundry room and exterior balconies. Others took the opportunity to own loft spaces in such a central location as a chance to make some money. Scott Sheehan, a 31-year-old tax advisor and real estate investor, bought an apartment inside the mall for $250,000. Sheehan decided to rent it out on Airbnb, and estimated he could make between $25,000 and $45,000 in revenue annually. 'At the end of the day, it's a unique experience,' Sheehan told CNBC. 'It's a great alternative to a hotel room.' Want more stories like this from the Daily Mail? Hit the follow button above for more of the news you need.
