RIVERSIDE BY POST.

MIXING USES IN THE CITY OF SPRAWL

From the beginning, everything was a little different about Riverside by Post.

It was certainly a different project for apartment developer Post Properties, which has specialized in developing garden-style communities in Atlanta for more than 28 years. The property, located alongside the Chattahoochee River, was different--and an incredibly challenging site. The innovative marketing campaign, featuring the fictional history of "the village of Riverside," caused quite a stir and landed a story in The Wall Street Journal. Most amazing of all, it was a mixed-use community in a city known far its sprawling development patterns.

Riverside is a new, neo-traditional community in Northwest Atlanta. Designed collaboratively by Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company, based in Seaside, Florida, Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart Stewart & Associates, based in Atlanta, Georgia, and Niles Bolton Associates, based in Atlanta, the first phase of the community was finished last summer, just as Atlanta began to gain national notoriety far its poor air quality and traffic congestion.

Riverside is a living laboratory that represents the community of the future. Post wants its residents and commercial customers to enjoy the advantages of living and working in Atlanta, while avoiding the headaches of long commutes and traffic jams.

The community is designed like a European village, with a centralized town square surrounded by an office building, apartments over retail, and a few flats. Immediately to the northeast, phase II includes a more conventional layout of Post apartments, all within walking distance of the square. The nine-story office building has 220,000 square feet of commercial space, the retail portion is 25,000 square feet, and there are 536 multifamily units planned including five for-sale villas.

Originally, Post planned traditional garden apartments for the 85-acre site, with a winding road connecting residential, commercial, and recreational areas. However, Post was in the middle of a strategic shift towards a more urban product, and decided to use the property to showcase the new vision. The company decided the dynamic piece of land needed something very special--hence the unique community that was created.

Post was aware of the top reputation of Miami-based Duany Plater-Zyberk designers. Post contacted the famed urban planners to oversee the design of Riverside's master plan. DPZ took the original plan and mixed the elements, reorienting them around a town square.

Post executives and representatives from local civic and community groups then participated in a planning process to give shared authorship to interested parties and generate feedback for the architectural team.

The result is a community with most of the hallmarks of neo-traditionalism. The town square is full of benches and resting places, the roads feature steep curves and right angles to slow speeding cars, and the sidewalks are broad and pedestrian-friendly. Post, with a heritage of environmental friendliness, left 40 acres of the property undeveloped as a common recreation area and a buffer for the Chattahoochee.

Located an the square, the River Room Restaurant allows fine dining, and a casual cafe/corner store is available for a less formal meal. Even traditional luxury apartment amenities, like the business center, fitness area, and post office are situated directly on the town square along with a travel agency, a bank, dentist office, insurance agent, hair stylist, and dry cleaner. These carefully selected retail elements blend together to provide the unique, small-town feel that characterizes Riverside.

Travelers are rewarded with a feel of the old in-town neighborhoods of the northeast when they round the bend into the Riverside. Soho in New York, Boston's Beacon Hill, Manhattan's Upper West Side, and Washington, D.C.'s Georgetown all served as inspiration for designers. Although the entrance to the community is not gated or restricted in any way, the well-lit streets and clean design provide residents with a sense of security.

Ironically, Phase I of Riverside was completed as Atlanta developers spent 1998 heading north to create expansive suburban business parks. In the mean time, Post finished its own reverse commute by completing a mixed-use project in town, and when the dust settles, Atlanta will have its first true neo-traditional, mixed-use community. The response has already been overwhelming.

The office and retail space was fully leased within months of opening. The apartments in phase I were fully leased by December. Units in phase II are being snapped up as quickly as they are finished. First occupancies for Phase II were in January.

Developers around Atlanta are using Riverside as an example of the type of mixeduse, infill communities they want to develop. Post is also continuing its in-town focus: the company is now working on a transportation-oriented development at a multi-modal node just north of downtown Atlanta and on a mixed-use project next to Atlanta's Piedmont Park. Key to the acceptance of Post's projects and others has been the example of Riverside as a template for new urban success in Atlanta.

Riverside has received significant attention as a template for anti-sprawl development and as a community for the future. For Post, the success of Riverside could nat have come at a more perfect time. Post Chairman and CEO John Williams took over as chairman of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce in 1999, and his top priority is to guide the metro area down the road of smart growth.

In Atlanta, the project has been featured as a trendsetter by most of the local media. Nationally, the Associated Press, The Wall Street Journal, National Real Estate Investor, Chicago Tribune, Multi-Housing News, Builder magazine, and Home and Garden TV have all profiled Riverside.

Faulk is president, Post Apartment Development and Chief Development Officer for Post Properties, Atlanta, Georgia.