TOD Development and Flight to the Suburbs

The new Biden administration has vowed to spend over $640 Billion over the next 10 years on housing.  The focus is primarily on affordable housing and density in the suburbs.

Putting politics aside, there may be a way to handle the outcome in an effective way that not only buffers the burbs from inappropriate high density housing but actually supports transit oriented development in appreciate locations..

The key to the issues is how to implement the density and affordability components in an appropriate planning way that supports transit, buffers  established neighborhoods and creates economic development.

In addition to the $640M pledged toward affordable housing, $20 Billion is pledged to transit agencies to upgrade and connectivity improvements.

So, what does this mean for TOD, especially throughout the northeast?  Overall, this could mean a windfall, with affordable housing less than 10% in many northeast communities, especially surrounding New York City, and south of Boston, this could mean the enhancement of development along transit corridors where dense housing, combined with origination and destination real estate makes  a lot of sense.

For some cities where residents are typically origination residents or users, such as bedroom communities travelling to major urban centers, for example Stamford, CT to New York City, this could mean additional funding to further develop dense housing for people who want to live near transit and have an easy commute to their work destination.  Already there is the development of dense housing around the local station, but more is in demand.  In addition, there are multi-modal opportunities, such as ferry connections to lower Manhattan.

For destination locations, which could also mean Stamford, CT or White Plains,  NY, this means funding to support improved transit, parking and mixed use office, retail/residential for people to originate somewhere on the transportation line and have a final destination as a transportation hub that could also be TOD.  Instead of users getting on a bus or taxi, the office is abutting or near the transportation hub, they could just walk to work or home and pick up dinner or laundry, as part of the transit amenity system.  Many locations, such as Stamford, Ct and White Plains, would be both destinations and points of origination.  The point is, all along major transportation corridors, there is  an opportunity to create origination sand destinations and dense mixed- use housing, of which a portion  could most certainly be affordable and attractive to college graduates and young families, would make perfect planning sense, and at the same time would not dismantle the local municipal zoning but create appropriate commercial hubs and actually serve as a natural buffers between transit and neighborhoods.

It’s a win-win for all.