The Nuts and Bolts of Mixed-Use Design

Like most things in multifamily, designing the right mixed-use community primarily boils down to what the resident values most. What businesses will they be most likely to frequent? How important is outdoor space, walkability, access to nature? While answers may vary, many such questions pop out more and more lately.

In practice, architects and designers need to head to the drawing board long before the actual uses for certain spaces are clear. However, certain kinds of spaces need to be designed along specific parameters, especially for grocers and restaurants.

Convenience often tops the list of resident priorities—grocery stores and coffee shops are popular choices to anchor mixed-use developments, as are physical fitness offerings and access to outdoor recreation. The look, feel and navigability of the broader property is key, tying the commercial and residential aspect together to create a unified community.

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“We love mixed-use projects because what they really are is foundational community builders,” said Kelly Farrell, global leader of Gensler’s residential practice & managing director of the firm’s Los Angeles office. “The key to retention is really building community and a place that people identify with.”

Part of this involves the postpandemic shift to hybrid and remote work, as well as a reevaluation of how important living spaces are. Amenities may matter more than ever in this environment, but they aren’t limited to the suite of options offered by an owner or property manager. Some of the most important amenities can depend on easy on-site access to businesses—from grocery stores to restaurants.

Creating space for food, coffee and exercise

“We’re starting to really look at convenience,” said Farrell, including spaces for “healthy convenience.” Health-focused grocery stores are one option in that direction, while another may be juice bars, coffee shops or somewhere to get a quick lunch.

“Having the grab-and-go sandwich place, having the coffee shop, having those cool restaurants that are just downstairs add so much value to their bottom line,” added Caroline Kovac, founder & principal at Design Identity Group. “When we talk about anchors, we typically think of conveniences with a big brand. If you’re putting in a Whole Foods at the bottom of your building, you’ve increased value for sure.”

There are extra expenses that go into managing around larger grocery tenants that cater to the general public. However, any developer that can build out a space large enough to house a grocery store where one is needed will likely find it valuable.

On the wellness front, Kovac added, gym and health club companies can offer residents and other members what the amenity suite of a multifamily property probably won’t, including access to an extensive offering of therapies: cryotherapy, saunas, barre classes, etc.

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Including a cafe or similar establishment in the lobby can also help attract residents. “One of the first challenges is: How do you get a resident to move in? How do you announce yourself to the neighborhood?” asked Farrell. “And we find an active lobby does a really great job.”

Figuring out what’s exclusive and what’s for the general public is also a challenge. That brings an interesting tension, Farrell noted. “How much of my amenity do I have to make for residents only? That’s an important question.”

Good businesses boost residential

Independent businesses with their own identities can help boost the appeal of a mixed-use property and burnish its reputation with would-be renters.

“We interview all of our clients, including a retailer that might be in a multifamily building, and we ask them a ton of questions about their history, how did they start their company, where do they want to take their company, what’s the demographic that comes to their shop or their store or their restaurant,” said Kovac. “We try to weave all of that in and really pay homage to who that store represents.”

On properties situated near hiking and biking trails, parks or nature preserves, it can be helpful to leverage the outside. You end up with a popular amenity beyond the traditional gym. That, in turn, has design implications on how a property is mapped out—from the indoor space allocated for exercise equipment and classes to what the outdoor plan for the project should look like.

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“The space between buildings carries the same weight, if not more weight, than the buildings themselves, because those are the places that we transit,” said Farrell. “One of the fundamental things you’ll see in mixed-use neighborhoods is that people are out walking. Does it work? It works when the sidewalks are full, and people are out running around.”

Whether near nature or surrounded by buildings, an understanding of a property’s surroundings is important when mapping out potential designs.

What’s more, if a neighborhood doesn’t have much of an identity yet, a mixed-use development can become the very nucleus tying together and elevating its surroundings.

Converting to mixed-use

Of course, not all mixed-use properties are planned as such from the get-go. Adding residential space to a commercial property happens “all the time,” according to Farrell.

About six years ago, Vestar decided to add multifamily units to its existing retail centers. Since then, the company added 800 units to what were once exclusively commercial properties, with plans to add 1,800 units to existing retail centers. And there are other large retailers doing the same lately.

While adding a multifamily component to existing commercial properties is fairly common, Ryan Ash, vice president of development at Vestar, noted that it would be much more difficult to do the reverse and add extensive commercial space to multifamily.

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“You’ve got to plan it from the start,” said Ash. Adding commercial space to an existing multifamily asset “would be unusual because the infrastructure is not in place.”

Adding restaurant space is particularly difficult. “When a developer goes and builds residential, they don’t have the foresight to think the ground floor is going to need a lot more power, going to need grease traps for any kitchens, ventilation shafts,” Ash pointed out.

Anticipating residents’ needs—and identities

If a property caters to a particular demographic—students, seniors or people in a particular profession—designers can try to appeal to the most likely residents. A designer can try to glean insights from about prospective renters from what attracts them to property. This also anticipates the kinds of businesses most likely to rent commercial space.

“If a developer or an investor is letting us know that they’re targeting two or three different types of retailers to come into their building, we might study that and we might try to understand why was that such an attraction to that developer and really try to pin what the desired demographic is for that area,” said Kovac. “If you’re near three hospitals and that’s been underwritten into the investors’ plan for the building, that probably tells us a little bit about the demographic that’s going to be working there.”

Read the October 2024 issue of MHN.