Summarize
Introduction
The Elmwood District redevelopment proposal presents a financially viable, job generating, mixed use development that balances economic revitalization with social responsibility. The site plan allocates land across residential, office, retail, community facilities, public amenities, and structured parking in a way that ensures long term stability while maximizing the City of Yorktown’s 10 year return.
The development program includes:
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190 total market-rate residential units (30% of built area)
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246,000 SF of office space (26%)
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122,400 SF of retail (13%)
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120 homeless shelter beds (6%)
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10,000 SF of community facility space (1%)
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14% of the sites are dedicated to public amenities
This program generates approximately:
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1,190 total jobs
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$7.61 million in tax revenue
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$2.66 million ten year net return to the city
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19.2% residential rate of return
The proposal is designed to meet City goals of job creation, tax revenue generation, and neighborhood revitalization while maintaining essential social infrastructure.
Statements of Development
As City Liaison, our responsibility is to ensure the proposal:
· Recovers the City’s $12 million public investment
· Maximizes tax generation within 10 years
· Creates substantial employment opportunities
· Reduces bright
· Supports long term economic stability
This proposal prioritizes office and retail uses to generate strong tax revenue while incorporating market rate housing to ensure financial feasibility and absorption stability.
The inclusion of public amenities (parks, sports courts, skate park) reinforces the City’s goal of creating an activated, safe, and community centered district
Why We Are Keeping the Homeless Shelter
As we considered the redevelopment of Elmwood, we evaluated every component of the site including the Phoenix Hotel/Homeless Shelter, which provides 120 beds within the district.
From a pure financial standpoint, removing the shelter would have been the simplest path. It would reduce perceived risk, simplify marketing, and allow for additional revenue generating uses.
However, redevelopment is not solely a financial exercise. It is a public decision with social consequences.
The shelter has long served as an essential safety net for vulnerable residents, including working individuals facing temporary hardship, seniors on fixed incomes, and families in crisis. Eliminating the facility would not reduce homelessness in the city. It would simply relocate it, shifting responsibility elsewhere and increasing strain on emergency services and surrounding neighborhoods.
This proposal reflects a deliberate choice to revitalize Elmwood without displacing its most vulnerable residents.
It is important to note that the shelter represents only 6 percent of the total development program. It does not define the district. Surrounding it will be 246,000 square feet of office space, over 120,000 square feet of retail, 190 residential units, public parks, and nearly 1,200 jobs.
By integrating the shelter within a larger, economically productive development, we achieve multiple objectives:
· We preserve critical social infrastructure.
· We activate the surrounding area with jobs and businesses.
· We improve safety through increased foot traffic and investment.
· We will strengthen the City’s tax base and recover public investment.
Revitalization must be balanced. A successful district cannot be built on displacement. It must be built on stability.
Retaining the shelter demonstrates that economic growth and social responsibility are not mutually exclusive. They can and in this case, do reinforce one another.
This decision supports long term neighborhood health, protects vulnerable residents, and aligns with the City’s broader goals of responsible redevelopment.
Why we choose 100% Market-Rate Residential Instead of Affordable Housing
While affordable housing serves as an important social need, it significantly reduces revenue generation and limits the City’s ability to recover its investment.
Choosing all market rate housing:
· Increase property tax generation
· Strengthens project feasibility
· Ensures private capital participation
· Improves long term project sustainability
· Avoids reliance on additional City subsidy
Additionally:
· The project already preserves 120 shelter beds
· Community facilities and public amenities remain integrated
· Retail and office create 1,190 jobs
By prioritizing market rate residential, we secure financial performance that enables the broader public benefits, jobs, services, and tax recovery.
The strategy balances social responsibility (shelter retention, public amenities) with economic pragmatism (market rate housing to ensure feasibility and revenue generation).
It reflects a balanced approach to revitalization one that strengthens Elmwood economically without ignoring its existing social fabric.
How I developed the Site Plan
The first step of the design process was to evaluate the surrounding environment. It was necessary to identify multifamily housing, single-family homes, office buildings, the YMCA, and nearby transit access to determine the most appropriate design. The approach was necessary to complement the existing structures. My goal was to create a mixed-use district that supports residents’ overall well-being. It had to support economic growth and the surrounding neighborhood where the people reside (Stein, 2017). I placed retail uses along the most viable and active streets. The intention was to encourage pedestrian movement into establishments and improve business activity. Office buildings were located near major corridors. They would be more accessible in these areas and create employment opportunities. Residential developments were arranged near parks and open spaces. The reasoning for the design was to improve the livability of the areas (Stein, 2017). They would allow people in the community to interact freely in these spaces. I preserved historic buildings to maintain the district’s character and identity.
Site Plan Solution
The Elmwood Development District site plan is holistic. It creates a balance between different aspects of life and allows for easy maneuverability. These aspects are evident in the inclusion of residential housing, office buildings, retail spaces, historic building rehabilitation, parking, and open space amenities. These areas are most frequented by people and are essential to their lives. Retail spaces are concentrated along major streets such as Jefferson Street and Madison Street. It was an intentional decision to increase traffic to spaces, including attracting visitors. Office buildings are placed along important corridors. They are easily accessible to stakeholders needing access to the offices. Residential buildings are situated near parks and other amenities. This approach allows people to live a healthier and more satisfying life because of the supportive environment. Historic buildings have been preserved to maintain the character and identity of the district.
Explanation of the Land Use Color Guide
Blue is used to represent new office developments. Light blue shapes are for low-rise office buildings, while darker blue shapes represent mid-rise office buildings. The deeper color represents greater height and density. The plan has blue shapes with black sections. They represent building mass or structural elements. All these buildings are located along major streets for visibility and accessibility (Stein, 2017).
Yellow is used to represent new residential developments. Light yellow shapes are for townhouses, while darker yellow shapes represent podium apartments or luxury condominiums. There are black stripes with yellow shapes to represent parking structures located beneath the residential units. The size and grid patterns of the shapes represent building scale and density. The arrangement of these residential buildings facilitates a transition between commercial areas and existing neighborhoods (Stein, 2017).
Red is used to represent retail development. Larger red blocks are for major retail anchors, while smaller red squares represent neighborhood retail shops. Black portions attached to red buildings represent surface parking areas. The red buildings with black dots on the roof represent the structured parking located above the retail space. These retail areas are strategically placed at intersections and along primary corridors to encourage economic activity (Stein, 2017).
Black blocks are used to represent parking areas. Solid black shapes are for surface parking lots. Black stripes under residential buildings represent structured parking located underneath podium-style developments. Black dots on red buildings indicate rooftop parking. These are the different parking layouts used in the design (Stein, 2017).
Brown or shaded buildings represent existing structures that will be rehabilitated. They are considered valuable, hence the need to make modifications to improve their structural integrity. These buildings include historic buildings such as York Dry Goods, Victorian Row, and the Homeless Shelter. They serve different purposes, and preservation will maintain the cultural identity of the neighborhood (Stein, 2017). The modification is meant to revitalize the structures to meet the current requirements.
Green is used to represent parks and open space areas. The different sizes of green blocks indicate different park sizes, including 5,000 square feet, 10,000 square feet, or 20,000 square feet parks. There are recreational amenities such as basketball courts, tennis courts, and skate parks in the plan. They were included because of the physical and social benefits. People can use them to increase physical activity and interact with neighbors. It complements the existing structures to improve the well-being of residents (Stein, 2017).
The plan has open space areas to enhance the quality of life. A 5,000 square foot park serves small neighborhood gatherings. It is a more intimate space where a small number of people can meet to have conversations or celebrate different events. A 10,000 square foot park provides a larger recreational area for community events. It can accommodate a larger group of people for activities requiring larger groups. A 20,000-square-foot park is large enough to serve as a major open-space anchor within the district. Its size is significant for larger crowds meeting for entertainment or sociopolitical activities. Recreational facilities such as basketball courts, tennis courts, and skate parks in the design provide active recreational opportunities for residents (Stein, 2017). They can participate in different activities to achieve desired physical goals.
References
Stein, L. (2017).
Comparative urban land use planning: Best practice. Sydney University Press.
