Carlton Landing sets new standard
By: J. David Chapman/December 8, 2016
I have written in this column in the past few months about the necessity of suburban cities to create an urban fabric and sense of community in order to grow and remain relevant in the future. Members of the Urban Land Institute from Oklahoma City, Tulsa and northwest Arkansas took a fun-filled bus excursion to one of Oklahoma’s most unique real estate developments – Carlton Landing.
Located on Lake Eufaula, Carlton Landing is the creation of the Humphreys family and led by Grant Humphreys.
The principles of new-urbanism can be applied to projects at a full range of scales from a single building to an entire community. Principles such as walkability, connectivity, mixed use, high density, mixed housing types and quality architecture are employed in new-urbanist communities. Grant and his brother Blair were early adopters of the concepts of new-urbanism and convinced their father, former Oklahoma City Mayor Kirk Humphreys, of the virtues of such development.
With the help of Andrés Duany, the world-renowned urban planner responsible for both Seaside and Rosemary Beach in Florida, and a skillfully built team of architects, engineers and designers, Grant has successfully built an Oklahoma version of Seaside, Florida, by applying new-urbanist principles creating a unique master plan unlike anything ever seen in this region. This might be the best example of a developer following his passion and walking-his-talk that I have ever seen. So much so, in 2012, Grant and Jen moved their family to Carlton Landing to become the first residents of the community.
In real estate principles, we teach a concept known as the value of anticipation. We purchase real estate, commercial and residential, based on some anticipation of value that we will receive. The value of real property is partially brick and mortar, but the way we shape our built environment profoundly affects its value as well. This strategy affects the way we live and interact with one another. Carlton Landing is mindfully designed to bring people together rather than divide, to encourage a healthy rather than sedentary lifestyle, and to set a new standard for economic growth and ecological stewardship.
Carlton Landing is setting the standard and proving the value proposition of building community. Builders and developers of ground-up and in-fill projects will increase value and benefit greatly from learning and implementing these new-urbanist concepts.
J. David Chapman is an associate professor of finance and real estate at the University of Central Oklahoma (jchapman7@uco.edu).