Leaders in development, planning, finance, and other fields gathered at Dallas’ George W. Bush Presidential Library & Museum last Thursday to discuss “The Future of Real Estate Development” as part of the Global Conference on NeoRetroism.
Twelve speakers addressed the crowd of 360, according to the conference site. NeoRetroism, a term coined by Dallas developer Jeff Blackard, represents a way of thinking about “old-world characteristics in new-world developments.” Blackard hosted the event in partnership with Herring Bank, Plano Profile, Stone Coat, and several other sponsors.
Blackard has been championing this kind of development for a while now, bringing it to Dallas-Fort Worth in the shape of Adriatica, a masterplanned village in McKinney. The $350 million, mixed-use development spans 45 acres and was inspired by Supetar, a Croatian fishing village where Blackard acquired the Villa Adriatica resort.
“Can you build a village, is the biggest question,” Blackard said, addressing the conference. His answer in short: no, you can’t. Blackard continued: ““You can’t just go out and build a village, because you can’t build the evolution part.” He illustrated how a true village develops out of necessity over time—continually growing based on the needs of the people who live there. In his planning, he said, he tries to replicate this process as best he can.
This part of the process involves producing a variety of numbers—from the ratio of the types of housing that will be necessary, to how many barbers a village of a certain size will need. Building masterplanned communities is like doing addition and subtraction, but building a village is like calculus, Blackard said he was once told. Anticipating the daily needs of the community is part of emulating the evolution.
“We know subdivisions fail, we know retail fails, we know New Urbanism fails,” he said. “A village should never fail.” NeoRetroism differs from New Urbanism because of its focus on inclusion of all types of people, and the importance of building a sense of community. It’s also key that the buildings that go up are not reserved for just one use—by design or zoning. The buildings should grow and evolve as the needs of the residents change over time.
“A great place has multiple uses and multiple users. It really brings people together,” Brian Adams, vice president and director of planning and urban design at CallisonRTKL, told the crowd.
The idea of “bringing people together” was reiterated throughout the day. Blackard refers to this as the “Blackard Triangle.” He gave an example of two different families going to the coffee shop in the village—they now have a connection to one another, even though they may be from different walks of life.
“The triangle is extremely important, because it brings people from different walks of life, different cultural experiences, and different economic and socio-economic standards, all together in a common space,” Adams said.
The future village, Adams said, should have multiple ways of access—usually by foot, public transit, or car. The design should include a combination of residential components, office spaces, co-working areas, and civic and event spaces, Adams said.
Added Blackard: “A village is so special, if you know how to design it.”
