How a Form-Based Code Generated over $500 Million in Downtown Infill Projects and Transformed a Sleepy Downtown

In 2014, Opticos Design worked with the City of Mesa, Arizona to create a Master Plan and Form-Based Code (FBC) that would provide incentives for redevelopment in their downtown core and along a five-mile stretch of Main Street. The Plan and Code focused development around three new transit stations to allow for a network of new walkable, public spaces. Prior to the adoption of the plan and FBC, there had been no private-sector investment in downtown Mesa in over three decades.

A Fresh Start for Founding Culdesac Residents and Businesses

Vertical construction on Culdesac Tempe is now well underway, with several buildings in the main entry plaza almost fully completed and future residents ready to make it their new home in 2022. The country’s first car-free community built from scratch promises a vibrant, walkable community that includes a restaurant, grocery store and coffee shop, amongst other amenities. While it is hard to find these types of retail tenants, especially early on in a mixed use project like this, Culdesac not only made it a priority, but also made a special effort to find small, locally owned businesses to support the local economy and reinforce a unique experience within the Culdesac community for residents and visitors.

Memphis, TN Amends Local Building Code to Allow up to Six Units Under Residential Building Code (IRC) to Enable Missing Middle Housing

On November 1, 2021, Memphis and Shelby County, Tennessee, rolled back a significant, but lesser noted regulatory hurdle to building missing middle in the US, by locally amending building codes to enable structures of 3 to 6 dwelling units to be reviewed by the city and county under their residential building code rather than the commercial building code that typically triggers at three units or more. For Andre Jones, a local builder and member of the City and County’s Building Code Advisory Board, the push to become one of the first jurisdictions to review missing middle housing under the residential code could not have come at a better time.

A Year in the Life at Opticos: 2021 in Review

For one last time in 2021, the Opticos team gathered at the office to pause and reflect upon all that we had accomplished this past year. It was a wonderful reminder of the project milestones, professional development, team building exercises, and overall fun we had in the last twelve months as we resumed meetings in the office and travelled nationwide to project sites, community engagement workshops, and speaking events.

The ENU Place Summit: Breaking Down Barriers to Advance and Connect Emerging Professionals within CNU

The Emerging New Urbanists Task Force held their first annual ENU Place Summit in San Francisco/Berkeley (hosted by Opticos), Chicago, New Haven/NYC, and via virtual platforms concurrently in October 2021. This inaugural event celebrated the creation of the Emerging New Urbanist (ENU) Task Force – a team of rising leaders dedicated to their mission of advancing the goals of the Charter of the New Urbanism with a focus on empowering emerging professionals to shape the future of the CNU.