How do you sell homes divorced from parking and roads in suburbia? Not only to the investors of a project but to the higher powers that be: the fire department and the market?

When Weber + Thompson designed Crofton Springs, a high-density community within Issaquah Highlands, they pushed New Urbanism up a notch, to what the designers coined as Neo Urbanism, where cars are not simply hidden behind the home but parked away from the majority of homes, where roads are reduced and not every front door faces a street.

In designing Crofton Springs, Weber + Thompson's main goal was to plan a high-density community without sacrificing quality of life, while enhancing community interaction, safety and security. An original feasibility used an alley-loaded technique common in New Urbanism, but Weber + Thompson felt that some of the space allocated for the alleys could be used more efficiently.

The developers, The Dwelling Company, dipped their toes in remote parking with a previous project, and were open to the same technique at Crofton Springs. In initial planning, the Master Developers of Issaquah Highlands, Port Blakely Communities, had set the stage for potential innovations at Crofton Springs. Port Blakely Communities had developed guidelines with the fire department and the City of Issaquah that were supportive of smaller roads and increased density.

Without this early negotiation, it would have been extremely hard for the designers of Crofton Springs to plan a community around remote parking.

In the developer's previous project - Poulsbo Place designed by Mithun Architects - all the homes were single family detached with garage parking in close proximity to each house. For Crofton Springs, the density goal was higher and the design team had the breakthrough idea to increase density by adding carriage houses over a series of attached garages overlooking shared greens. This idea put "eyes on the car court" and turned what is often considered necessary-wasted space into an efficient and quirky marriage of parking and living. In turn, the designers were able to take the space initially allocated for streets and alleys into larger shared community green spaces.

By turning garages into car courts and carriage houses, the designers were able to group the parked cars in strategic locations, reducing the quantity of roads throughout the community, and turning the car courts into an amenity while increasing density. The linkage of the homes, garages, and shared greens with pedestrian paths quite separate from roads underscored the original social connectivity and security concept of Crofton Springs.

However, the basic concept of divorcing cars from the homes created a great deal of tension within the project, specifically with three different parties: the investors, the fire department and ultimately, the market.

Investors
The developer of Crofton Springs is The Dwelling Company, a new company that has since broken away from its parent company Security Properties and was eager to make a name for itself in the for-sale housing development market. However, they were having problems convincing investors that the idea of making residents walk to their parking would sell in the suburban Eastside market. The investors had difficulty establishing real estate values as there was nothing comparable within the market. At Crofton Springs, the cars were approximately 100-150 feet from the homes in attached multi-car garages with someone's home located above which was perceived by appraisers as a significant risk.

However, the developers were excited about expanding their initial foray into cottage development with remote parking and worked hard ultimately convincing their investors that there was value in doing something different in the suburban market. It would also prove to establish The Dwelling Company's brand.

Fire Department
The fire department was initially resistant to the designers' idea of limiting the number of roads throughout the community, and building homes where there was no street-front access or address. While, understandably, the fire department's main goal was safety, their inflexible application of their methods resulted in lost opportunities. The designers spent valuable time convincing the fire department to view the neighborhood as a multifamily development, with groups of homes that could be easily reached by a fire hose rather than considering each individual home as a separate entity. Working with the fire department, the designers planned the car courts and alleys so that the fire department would have easy hose access to each home. Way-finding systems such as community map kiosks were located at critical pedestrian path and street intersections to aid in locating individual addresses.

Market
Continually weighing on the designers and developers was the question of what the market's response would be to the remote parking and emphasis on walking. The designers reduced alleys and streets to the minimum possible to maximize greens, pedestrian walks and density, while still maintaining a reasonable walking distance for potential buyers. It was a careful balancing act that no one was completely comfortable with.

When The Dwelling Company first put the homes at Crofton Springs up for sale, there was minimal interest. At the time the community had just started construction. The landscaping was not installed and there was no clear physical expression of what the community was going to be, much less how the remote parking would work. It was a messy construction site in close quarters and potential buyers still couldn't envision the benefits of the remote parking concept, resulting in slow sales.

However, once a critical mass of houses were built and the community started taking shape with completed garden spaces, the charm factor of Crofton Springs began to emerge. Buyers could now see how they were exchanging quick access parking for abundant green spaces, fewer cars, friendly relations with their neighbors and safer places for their children to play. The market took off, and the community almost completely sold out (only five homes left as of 4.19.05).

Remote parking was a huge gamble for Crofton Springs. The developer and its investors had a large financial risk riding on its success, and the designers had their reputation and the potential for new, innovative community projects like Crofton Springs on the line. Careful design, and a finely tuned analysis of what buyers would give up for a higher quality of life in the form of comfortable neighbor relations, pedestrian paths, safety for their children and lots of shared green spaces proved to be a successful concept and The Dwelling Company has continued with a large second phase up the road.