Dana Little Explore the evolution of a 16 year old new urbanist development. Topics discussed include how Abacoa was shovel ready as the center of the regional bioscience cluster for Palm Beach County, how design and planning can withstand market forces and the challenges of integrating mixed uses including specific discussion of the follies of the Town Center.

1. Abacoa, Town of Jupiter A Regional Model Florida Chapter of the American Planning AssociationSeptember 8, 2011 TREASURE COAST REGIONAL PLANNING COUNCIL

2. A Personal Journey 1995 Charrette Master Plan Different Perspectives Over Time

3. More Than a “Development” Broke from the Rigid Sub-Urban Standards of the Time Mixed-Use Buildings Alleyways Network of Public Streets Garage Apartments Mix of Housing Types and Price Points Townhouses On-Street Parking Integration of Residential and Non-Residential Uses All of These were Taboo or Prohibited in 1995 Abacoa Broke the Mold For Large-Scale TND’s

4. Abacoa is a Regional Model ~ Streets can be small ~ Services have easy access (school buses) ~ Many ways to move around ~ Is not a burden on the roadway network outside of Abacoa (does not jettison its impacts off-site) Dense Network of Publicly Accessible Streets

5. Abacoa is a Regional Model ~ Single Family ~ Townhouse ~ Multi-family ~ Garage Apartments~ Home Ownership ~ Rentals One Does Not Have to be Fractured From Their Community Due to Personal Circumstances Integration of Varying Housing Types and Living Opportunities

6. Abacoa is a Regional Model ~ Residential ~ Commercial/Office ~ Retail/Restaurants ~ FAU~ Schools ~ Golf and Recreation ~ Scripps & Max Planck Wide Range of Uses Internal to Abacoa

7. Abacoa is a Regional Model ~ Well Connected ~ Identifiable Neighborhood Centers Framed by Buildings (FRONTS!!) ~ Highly Sophisticated in their Design Network of Public Greens, Parks and Open Spaces

8. Abacoa is a Regional Model ~ Street and Block Network ~ Mix and Proximity of Uses ~ Publicly Accessible Streets and Open Spaces Conventional Subdivisions are as good as they are ever going to get the day they are done. The Basic Design of Abacoa Allows it to Improve Over Time

9. Abacoa is a Regional Model ~ 1995 SRPP is “Comp Plan” for the Treasure Coast Region ~ Shares the Design Principles of Abacoa ~ Abacoa has Remained a Point of Reference and a Place of Pilgrimage for new Projects in the Region We Have Not Been Good Shepherds of Our Regional Growth Patterns The SRPP is an Anti-Sprawl Field Guide Heavily Influenced the Strategic Regional Policy Plan

10. Abacoa is a Regional Model Town Center Struggles FAU ~ Limited Integration into Town Center Scripps – Basically Kept Old Mecca plan Provides Learning Opportunities Greenway System tends to Separate Neighborhoods

11. Abacoa is a Regional Model ~ Influenced Other Parts of Town ~ Is a Living Laboratory of Urbanism in PBC ~ Has Enabled the Town to Consider Other Possibilities (Scripps, Rail Transit, etc) Has Changed the DNA of Jupiter

12. Abacoa is a Regional Model ~ Influenced Other Parts of Town ~ Is a Living Laboratory of Urbanism in PBC ~ Has Enabled the Town to Consider Other Possibilities (Scripps, Rail Transit, etc) Alleyways Provide Appropriate Transitions of Densities and Uses Has Changed the DNA of Jupiter

13. Abacoa is a Regional Model Has Changed the DNA of Jupiter (Military Trail in Jupiter)

14. The daily walk home Abacoa is a Regional Model Military Trail Treatment in other Parts of Palm Beach County

15. Abacoa is a Regional Model ~ Inlet Village ~ Military Trail/Botannica ~ Toney Penna Station The Design of Abacoa has Enabled the Town to Improve Over Time

16. The Capitol and The Mall (looking east), 1850 The New Civic Art, 2003

17. Abacoa is a Regional Model City-Building is Never Complete Abacoa is Still a Work-In-Progress Patience ~ A Principal Ingredient of Good Urbanism

18. A1A ThankYou Martin Luther King Blvd 59th Street www.tcrpc.org