Des Moines Register
05-16-07
Poximity shapes WDM's Ponderosa 'village'
Homes will be within walking distance of restaurants, offices and shops in the 'community within a community.'
By S.P. DINNEN
REGISTER BUSINESS WRITER
Designers of the Village of Ponderosa are betting that suburban residents want to walk to work, a grocery store or a restaurant - as long as it is no more than 1,000 feet away.
The West Des Moines project, begun last year by Ladco Development Inc., follows a trend in urban living that combines homes, retail outlets and office buildings. Ladco has just begun construction of single-family homes in a corner of what once was a nine-hole golf course. Steel frames are up for office and retail buildings, and construction on apartment houses and town homes will soon follow.
Within three years, Ladco expects to fill all 511 dwellings planned for the 97-acre property, its "community inside a community."
Dennis Reynolds, design development director for Ladco, said studies have shown that people are willing to walk about 1,000 feet to reach a goal such as a grocery or eatery. So most housing is within that distance from retail and office space, most of which is physically separated from the residential area by a crescent-shaped lake. Residents also can trek on about seven miles' worth of walking paths and sidewalks.
Clyde Evans, director of community and economic development for West Des Moines, said Ponderosa joins a small but growing list of mixed-use developments in the city. Land costs have been rising, and now builders in the Midwest are doing what has become common on the East and West coasts - packing more housing units into a given parcel of land.
Kate Schwennsen, an associate dean of the College of Design at Iowa State University, said it makes sense for Ladco and other developers to make diversity a part of their projects.
"We need to diversify how we develop communities to make the best use of land," she said. High-density housing not only uses less of that valuable commodity but also allows for a successful blending of prices, retailing and people.
"Variety is the spice of life," Schwennsen said. "That's the way to make communities."
To build that sense of community, Reynolds has given the automobile - which spawned the growth of suburbia - a low profile.
Parking for the office buildings will be located toward the backs of the properties, facing the site's outer boundaries. Lots will be up to 10 feet below street grade, so the eyes of passers-by on Mills Civic Parkway or 60th Street won't be drawn to seas of cars, but instead toward buildings designed to complement one another, and greenery - Ladco and homeowners will plant about 1,800 trees.
Residential parking will be tucked behind most dwellings. People prefer to see kids playing in front yards as opposed to cars parked out front, said Sharon Klaus, a real estate agent with First GMAC who is selling properties there.
The retail area will follow a crescent-shaped street, Reynolds said, designed to tempt motorists to seek what's ahead.
For broad appeal, Ponderosa is offering 13 housing concepts. Only the most expensive - in the Creekside area, where the lots cost $108,000 each - will typically permit individualized construction. In other areas, most designs will come from Ladco.
Reynolds said appearances will change from area to area. The company has hired a "colorist" to help create a color scheme that doesn't repeat itself too much.
Home prices range from around $164,000 to more than $500,000. Construction of Creekside homes has begun. Once roads through the property are finished in June, building will begin on other residential property.
"It's a nice blend," said Teri Wood, a spokeswoman for Ladco. "It's new living in West Des Moines. New office. New retail. It's the whole lifestyle experience."
Reporter S.P. Dinnen can be reached at (515) 284-8543 or