Yerba Buena Island will be a residential development like no other in San Francisco! Boutique developer Wilson Meany and real estate investment firm Stockbridge Capital Group recently announced the start of the vertical construction of this two-decade long milestone project.
The 266 luxury residences will have sweeping 360 degree views of the city, a first of this area’s kind. A naturally formed island in the heart of San Francisco Bay, the island’s community will feature a number of “wellness-minded amenities” such as hiking trails, access to parks and more. Residents will be able to lounge out on Clipper Cove Beach and travel only 10 minutes to the city’s downtown.
“Sustainable” is a keyword for this new development as the island’s diverse topography was kept in mind when designing each condominium, flat and townhome. Meany’s developments, which include the historic San Francisco Ferry building, typically reflect the importance of holistic living and people’s connections with each other and the nature that surrounds them — Yerba Buena Island will be no exception.
More than half of the island’s environmental space is being reserved for open area parks, sandy beaches, and hiking and biking paths. A team of award- winning architecture firms —Hart Howerton, BDE Architecture, Inc., Cliff Lowe Associates, Inc., Hood Design Studio, Edmonds + Lee Architects, Meyer Davis and Aidlin Darling Design — teamed up to create residences that incorporate and celebrate the island’s unique geography.
Residential sales will begin in early 2020, with the The Agency Development Group being the exclusive marketing and sales firm for Yerba Buena Island.
Photos courtesy of Hayes Davidson.
Homes grouped around a small collection of shops, churches, banks, a doctor’s office and a barber. It’s the way cities and towns developed. Today, a similar process is underway in Vancouver, Miami, Baltimore, San Jose, Memphis and many other cities, except expansion is as much upward as it is outward in a new vision of community considered a “vertical village.”
The concept found early proponents in Asia, where space is at a greater premium. Now, similar neighborhoods are taking shape in the U.S. and Canada, often in former industrial or commercial sites. In Memphis, Cross-town Concourse is rising in a former Sears distribution center and retail outlet the size of 25 football fields. In Atlanta, another abandoned distribution center is the foundation for Ponce Market, a mixed-use community adjacent to the Beltline. And in an era when retail seems to be threatened, shopping malls — not the familiar single-dimension covered expanse, but open sites inviting participation — are the foundation for vertical villages along with a mix of residences in multiple buildings and varied price brackets.
Misora Santana Row. Photo courtesy of Ankrom Moisan Architecture.
However, no matter how well meshed, retail and residential alone do not create community. Instead, the addition of parks, trails, green spaces, grocery stores, farmer’s markets, performance centers, galleries, venues for the arts, wellness, education and medical and dental facilities turn what might be simply a new mall into a community.
Arts and culture are a focus at Crosstown Concourse, which is a collaborative effort, focused on the arts. Here, residents are perceived as embodying the spirit of the place.
Santana Row in West San Jose, California, is another relatively new mixed-use community incorporating retail, offices and residential.
“Community is engrained in everything we do here at Santana Row,” says Collette Navarrette, West Coast marketing director for the developer, Federal Realty Investment Trust. “The center-wide amenities, highly engaged residents, and unique community events that Santana Row offers inspire and connect people in a meaningful and lasting way.
The concept of a vertical village might be mainstream for developers, but it’s still new to consumers. One of their biggest questions is whether the convenience and community will meet their needs and most especially their values, according to data scientist David Allison, who heads an eponymous global advisory firm. He says it all comes down to values. “What we value determines what we do.”
Allison brings new insights into con-sumer behavior. He contends traditional demographic parameters of age and gender do not work in today’s market. “People really don’t act their age anymore. Gender rules and norms are less important than ever before. In fact,” he says, “we live in a post-demographic era. Allison’s firm has amassed data from almost half a million people regarding 40 core human values as well as several hundred other needs, wants and expectations. Their database, Valuegraphics, shows that people in the traditional demographic categories have little agreement — only 13 percent of the time for Boomers, 11 percent for Gen X and 15 percent for Millennials. Humans overall only agree 8 percent of the time. Instead, Valuegraphics data uncovered 10 huge groups or architypes who agree on pretty much everything.
To profile those drawn to a vertical village, Allison combined this data with additional research among 1,864 North Americans who indicated interest in such a community. The results reveal several major interest profiles.
The Interlace in Singapore, designed by Ole Scheeren and Oma, established a new vision for urban residential living. Photo courtesy of Mike Cartmell.
Local Experience
Chasers Approximately 32 percent literally pursue experience after experience, but they like to have those experiences close to home. “They want to do things they love again and again,” says Allison. Loyal to things that trigger a sense of belonging, they are apt to join a team or club and love to see the same faces. Quality of life often means quality of social life. A sense of belonging is important and they like the idea of multipurpose living. Allison says for this group extra thought should be given to programming. A 3D walkthrough of a yet to be finished building would have great appeal.
Workaholic Investors
Comprising 19 percent of potential residents, this group values financial security, material possessions and wealth. They are likely see a place in a vertical village as an investment. Allison says, “They are thinking long term about all of the component parts of the offering.” They are likely to be attracted to the proximity of amenities. Who lives in the building could also be an incentive for them.
Creative Savers
This group, which comprises about 16 percent of the sample, gravitates to places that will foster their own creativity. They accept potential financial challenges presented by a creativity-centered life. They are likely to have children and are attracted to inspiring design, cozy common areas and quaint trails meandering through parks, according to Allison.
City Loving Environmentalists
The last of the major archetypes, this group sees this style of community as being better for the environment and is motivated to reduce their carbon footprint. They love city living but appreciate and value of parks and green spaces. Highly educated and loyal, they are attracted to diversity. Family and relationships as well as health and wellbeing are also important to them.
Another group, about 18 percent of the sample, is composed of varied smaller architypes, which indicate going vertical might represent a substantial cross section of consumers.
CityVista, a mixed-use development, located at 475 K Street, N.W., in the Mount Vernon Square neighborhood of Washington D.C. Photo courtesy of Creative Commons by AgnosticPreachersKid.
Los Angeles-based real estate development firm, Irongate, announces the debut of Amanvari, a resort that will serve as a peaceful escape and private oasis, nestled between the mountains and sea on the Eastern Cape of the Baja Peninsula in northwestern Mexico.
Irongate, a Los Angeles-based real estate development firm, announced the debut of Amanvari, a peaceful escape and private oasis nestled between the majestic Sierra de la Laguna mountain range and Sea of Cortes on the Eastern Cape of the Baja Peninsula in northwestern Mexico. Aman Resorts International is scheduled to open Amanvari, its new hotel and private residences, in 2020.
Aman is a luxury hotel group with 33 destinations in 21 countries. Its name is derived from the Sanskrit-derived words for “peace” and “water.” Set within Costa Palmas, a private beachfront resort community with three kilometers of swimmable beach, Amanvari is easily accessible from almost every American hub.
“It is an incredible honor and a dream come true for me to have an Aman resort at Costa Palmas,” said Jason Grosfeld, chairman and CEO of Irongate. “It is a testament to the beauty of the East Cape that Aman has selected Costa Palmas to be their first destination in Mexico.”
Irongate, in collaboration with Aman, has commissioned architects Heah & Co. who have approached the design of Amanvari with the overriding objective of allowing the surreal landscape to take center stage. The resort design contemplates 20 bi-level hotel pavilions, each offering a generosity of space both inside and out. The pavilions will be spread across the resort’s bucolic landscape and boast floor to ceiling windows that open onto an outdoor terrace and wraparound sundeck.
The main pavilion at Amanvari will form the heart of the resort. This pavilion will be a destination where guests and residents can enjoy restaurants, a library and lounge, as well as a 30-meter infinity pool incorporating four hot tubs. The Aman Spa pavilion is planned to be steps from the main pavilion along a treed pathway.
For those looking for a more permanent Aman lifestyle, an initial release of only 24 whole-ownership Aman Residences will be offered for sale. Aman Residences will range from four to seven bedrooms spanning from 1,207 to 1,858 square meters of covered indoor-outdoor living.
In addition to Amanvari, the Costa Palmas master plan includes a Robert Trent Jones II golf course, 18-acres of organic farms, the private members-only Costa Palmas Beach and Yacht Club to which residence owners will be invited to join and Four Seasons Resort Los Cabos at Costa Palmas.
A 45-minute drive from Los Cabos International Airport ventures away from the popular destination of Los Cabos and takes guests to the East Cape, where there are few tourists. Guests can dive with migrant whales, go on sailing and fishing expeditions, visit freshwater ponds with a resident biologist and visit local ranches for horseback riding at Amanvari.
Tucked away in a far corner of the thousand-acre development where the sea, the wild desert and farmland meet, Amanvari is part of Costa Palmas, yet geographically and elementally removed from it. Wild and natural, Amanvari envelopes guests and residents in its own private sanctuary.
Photos courtesy of Aman