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Infill is the process of developing vacant or under-used parcels within existing urban areas that are already largely developed. Infill development can bring about a more efficient and economic way to use the community’s resources including land and infrastructure as well as additional choices in housing and savings for local government budgets.

This is a picture from downtown Davidson NC. Can you tell which is the new building in this group of three? Notice that the pattern in the brickwork of the one story building painted white and the two-story building to the left is the same. The new building is the one on the left, partially hidden by the tree; it was built in 2000 and replaced a one-story building in that location.

Here is a detail of the windows. By using the same brickwork pattern as the neighboring building, the designers helped preserve the feeling of continuity and respected the local architectural character. The building is a seamless fit in the streetscape (defined as the area including the facades of buildings, sidewalks, landscaping and street) because it complements the existing architecture.

This new restaurant in downtown Morganton, NC is located a block away from the Trading Company project (seen in the “Rehabilitate for a Different Use” section). The restaurant is built to the street, and the outside dining area promotes a lively, pedestrian-oriented atmosphere.

A new multi-screen theater has been completed in the same block downtown along with a restaurant and a new upstairs luxury loft apartment. All these recent projects bring more people downtown.

This picture shows the metal façades being removed from a group of three buildings on East Innes Street in Salisbury. The Chamber of Commerce, Visitor and Convention Bureau, Economic Development Commission and other offices decided to relocate from their scattered locations and build a “gateway” to Salisbury.

The original plan involved demolishing the three buildings. Downtown Salisbury, Inc. (a non-profit organization dedicated to revitalizing the downtown area) decided to become a partner in the project and convinced the Gateway project owners to change the location of their proposed building to further up the block. Downtown Salisbury, Inc. bought the three buildings, restored the facades and resold them so now the properties are generating additional tax revenue.

This is what the scene looks like today. The Gateway Center opened in 2000 and is approximately 18,000 square feet in area. Parking is located behind the building.

The Greensboro zoning ordinance requires buildings in this historic district to be built to the edge of the street, which contributes to the pedestrian-oriented atmosphere. Parking is behind the building. Notice the Kinko’s sign further down the street.

Notice that here, where the historic district regulations are not in force, the fact that parking has been placed in front of the building totally changes the feel of the street. The parking lot is a barren, uninteresting place to be, in contrast to the stores right next door.

This drugstore is located in Charleston, SC at the edge of the historic district. It is built to the street, with the parking lot located beside the building. The pattern in the brickwork and roof pitch reflects the architectural style of the historic warehousing district to the east while the brick sign and landscaping add to the character.

This is King Street in Charleston’s historic district. You will notice there is a wide variation in the buildings in the picture—they are different heights, colors and even ages but yet they seem to all work together to make a whole. You can see a newer building in the second block on the right-hand side of the street (we’ll see this building again in a close-up shot), while the buildings in the foreground are older, ranging in age from the 1880s to the early 20th century.

This building across the street is brand-new.

Here is a close-up picture of Charleston Place that we saw earlier, formerly known as the Omni Center; it was completed in 1987. This infill project occupies an entire city block and contains a 400-room hotel, conference facilities, parking deck, offices, apartments, two restaurants and 70,000 square feet of retail space. The project sparked a number of renovations of buildings in the surrounding neighborhood as well.

The Kroger grocery store pictured here is located in Savannah, GA and is actually part of two historic districts—the store itself is in one district and occupies one block, the parking lot occupies another block. The “driveway” dividing the grocery store from the parking lot is actually a public street, and so the existing street grid network is preserved. There is a marked pedestrian walkway between the store and parking lot.

It was constructed in 1990 and the historic district regulations require that the building be built to the street line. Attention to the area’s architectural character is a key component for ensuring the new development fits in and gains neighborhood acceptance.

With the landscaping and pattern in the brickwork, even the side of the building is pleasant to walk by so the pedestrian atmosphere of the streetscape is maintained. The city staff is concerned that Savannah’s tree canopy, which is an integral part of the city’s identity and character, be preserved. To achieve this, the ordinance has landscaping requirements that each project must meet, based on a system that awards points for trees as well as for other landscaping.

This building is located in the National Register and locally designated historic district of Biltmore Village in Asheville, NC. The Village was built before the turn of the 20th century to serve as the commercial center for people working on the Biltmore Estate.

Here is a view of the same building around the corner from the previous picture. The New Morning Gallery features crafts and artwork from regional artists, and they wanted to expand their store in the same location. The new part is past the second green awning.

You can see how one building is connected to the other; would you believe that the first “floor” of the building on the left is a parking lot?

This area was originally the parking lot for the gallery; when the owner decided to expand he worked with an architect and the Asheville Historic Resources Commission to come up with a design that would be in keeping with the original part of the building, preserve the streetscape and encourage pedestrian traffic. The solution was to partially enclose the parking lot with brick columns and an attractive iron fence running between them, and construct enclosed display space at the corners.

This is what the site looked like from the front, before the building was constructed.

Here is the same view now, after construction. The project transformed the intersection because the new building fronts on two streets and creates a streetscape. Floor space in the gallery was expanded by constructing a second floor that is connected with the original gallery building.

This building is also located in historic Biltmore Village in Asheville and originally served as a hospital; it was constructed in 1916. The building material is called “pebbledash” and consists of cement and exposed coarse aggregate; many structures in Biltmore Village are constructed with this finish material. The building has been rehabilitated and is now used for offices.

A block away from the building in the previous picture is this office building, built in the colonial style which is not authentic to the time period when Biltmore Village was developed.

This is the building that is there now, thanks to the requirements in the local historic district regulations, efforts of the local Historic Resources Commission and the architect for the project. It uses pebbledash construction and looks as if it might have been built around the time of the hospital shown in the previous picture based on the rooflines, windows and other architectural details. You can see that every effort was made to reflect the architecture and setbacks of the other original structures in the neighborhood.

This is what the McDonald’s looked like in Biltmore Village until recently. It could have been located anywhere, and a person looking at it wouldn’t have had any hints about where it might be.

The new building fits in with the character of the neighborhood much better now, with the roofline, sign, windows, materials and color all reflecting the historic area’s design themes.

There’s still a drive-through window, too, yet everything about this building says that it is part of the Biltmore Village historic district and is a good architectural neighbor.

The interior is also unique, featuring 16-foot copper and wood coffered ceilings, a baby grand piano and a fireplace. The restaurant was recently recognized as “The World’s Classiest” by the company.

This is the First Citizens Bank in Hendersonville NC. It was constructed on Main Street in the late 1980s at the most prominent intersection downtown. It is built next to the sidewalk on each street, but it leaves a landscaped court with trees and benches in front.

Parking is located at the back and extends to the next street; there is also a lower level for employee parking. Notice that the back looks like a main entrance too so the building has two “front doors”—one for people who arrive on foot and one for people who drive.

This is the parking lot entrance from Church Street, one block west of Main Street. The brick and iron wall form an attractive edge along with the landscaping.

In contrast, notice how the Bank of America building in the next block is set back from both corners of the intersection and the parking lot is in front of the building. As a result, the streetscape isn’t there …

…and it is far less interesting for pedestrians to walk along the block. However, the parking lot is screened from the sidewalk with shrubs, which makes it somewhat more attractive than just a row of cars.

This is the newly constructed headquarters of the Urban League near the Third Ward in Charlotte, next to the new Gateway Village. This building also has two front doors, one for pedestrians arriving via the sidewalk…

…and one for people who drive, at the parking lot in back.

This convenience store is located on a traffic island adjacent to downtown Hendersonville NC. The attractive landscaping and ground sign present an appealing scene for everyone driving or walking by.

This is a new medical office complex, located in Hendersonville. The building is set close to Highway 64 and presents an attractive aspect from the road, although there isn’t an entrance on this side of the building; that is on the other side by the parking lot. Note the large pre-existing trees preserved during construction. The sign is the first example of the hospital’s campus-wide signage plan.

Just a little ways back towards town in Hendersonville, you can see what a difference it makes when the parking is in front of the building. Since this doctor’s office building is set back from the street…

… the streetscape is missing, leaving an unappealing and monotonous view of a parking lot.

This new office complex is also located off Highway 64 in Hendersonville at an intersection.

The buildings are set back so far from the road that the parking lot completely dominates the scene.

The Public Works complex for the City of Asheville is sited along a major gateway into downtown. In the late 1980s the City Council decided to consolidate the many functions of the Department of Public Works into one location. One option was to relocate the operations to an area of junkyards and abandoned industrial buildings on the French Broad River a mile from downtown. Another possibility, advocated by the architectural firm hired for the project and supported by the city manager at the time, was to recycle the current site being used for some of the facilities and enlarge it to make it more efficient. This was challenging because the five acre site—left over from an urban renewal project that took place in the 1970s—was long, narrow, and steep in some places.

The building incorporates elements from City Hall (the structure with the cupola in the background) such as the juxtaposition of pink and other color stones and brick. The use of split-faced block, utility brick and pre-cast concrete provide a civic presence for the project, and yet the construction came in well under the budgeted amount.

The dispatcher’s control tower monitors the movement of all vehicles and equipment within the complex.

The administration building contains a two-story atrium that brings light into the center of the building and serves as a gathering place for city employees every morning before the day’s work begins.

A city street divides the property; located on one side is the administration building and one-stop permitting, while the other side houses the equipment maintenance yard. This long east façade shields from public view…

…more than 200 vehicles and pieces of equipment as well as the heated vehicle storage building, sheds, a signage and vehicle paint building, and a salt and sand storage building.

This is the one hundred block of South Main Street in downtown Salisbury NC; there was a fire here in 1964 that created a hole in the streetscape, like a tooth that had been knocked out of a mouth so there is a gap in the smile. It remained empty for more than 30 years.

This new infill construction fills in the gap in the smile. It has decorative elements on the façade, articulation (elements that project in or are recessed), and windows that face the street, all of which contribute to the streetscape. The building was designed by Charlotte architect Ron Morgan.

This parking lot in downtown Salisbury had several buildings on it that were removed during the late 1970s as part of urban renewal. This property is located in the next block from the bakery that has been turned into offices, shown earlier in the renovation section of this presentation.

As part of the multi-block revitalization effort downtown, a new $1.5 million, 12,000 square feet building was recently completed on the property. Called “East Council Place,” the building is a condominium, and although retail space was available on the first floor it became evident the market demand was for office space and the building quickly sold out for that use. These units sold on average for about $140 per square foot; one unit is occupied by the project architect who designed the building.

Although no photographs exist of the previous structures on the property, there were some sketches available and they were used to help design the appearance of the new buildings. Notice that the buildings front on the sidewalk, have large windows to promote interaction between people inside and outside, and have a mix of architectural details and awning colors to emphasize the different storefronts.

The parking lot, located to the side of the building, is partially screened by this wall which helps continue the edge of the streetscape.

This is the Norman building in Salisbury NC, as it appeared until recently. The blue tiles and aluminum canopy you see had been added in the 1950s to “modernize” the façade, which originally looked like…

…this, when the building was built in the 1920s. Notice that there is a vacant lot to the left of the building, and an alley to the right that was later closed.

Construction has started on a project to restore the building façade to its original appearance, as well as to build a companion five-story structure on the vacant lot to the left. Notice that the floors of both buildings are at the same height so the pattern of the windows continues from one building to another.

Office condominiums are planned in both buildings; some space was pre-sold before construction started. The Salisbury firm that was the project architect purchased the fifth floor of the Norman building and moved in in December 2002. The remaining floors have been roughed in and it is expected that all of the units will be completed and occupied by the end of 2003 .

The alley, called “Easy Street,” has been reopened, re-establishing the link to the train depot located a few blocks away.