Riverwalk

A River (creek, actually) Runs Through It - This affordable family housing development makes the most of an extremely challenging site while addressing the fears of nervous neighbors. Further - it resucued a distressed creek (previously a trash filled eyesore). The seasonal waterway was cleaned out, re-vegetated with native species, and re-purposed as a part of a linked community open space/walking trail. Fifty apartments in five buildings are carefully arranged along opposing banks—linked by a footbridge. The vibe of this project pays homage to the local but long forgotten Little Lander Colony No. 1 – a utopian experiment founded by wild-eyed visionary William E. Smythe in 1906. The motto of this unique agricultural settlement was “A Little Land and a Living” – causing the settlers to be dubbed Little Landers. A little land was certainly all the was available for these family apartments. Still it seems clear that the designers wrestled out a pretty nice place – if not a utopia – for folks to live. All that and a welcome new open space/trail.