TREASURE COAST REGIONAL PLANNING COUNCILTREASURE COAST REGIONAL PLANNING COUNCIL

Abacoa, Town of Jupiter

A Regional Model

Florida Chapter of the American Planning AssociationSeptember 8, 2011

A Personal Journey

Different Perspectives Over Time

1995 Charrette Master Plan

More Than a “Development”

Abacoa Broke the Mold For Large-Scale TND’s

Broke from the Rigid Sub-Urban Standards of the

TimeMixed-Use Buildings

AlleywaysNetwork of Public Streets

Garage ApartmentsMix of Housing Types and

Price PointsTownhouses

On-Street ParkingIntegration of Residential and

Non-Residential UsesAll of These were Taboo or Prohibited in 1995

Abacoa is a Regional Model

Dense Network of Publicly Accessible Streets

~ 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)

Abacoa is a Regional Model

Integration of Varying Housing Types and Living Opportunities

~ Single Family~ Townhouse~ Multi-family~ Garage Apartments~ Home Ownership~ RentalsOne Does Not Have to be Fractured From

Their Community Due to Personal Circumstances

Abacoa is a Regional Model

Wide Range of Uses Internal to Abacoa

~ Residential~ Commercial/Office~ Retail/Restaurants~ FAU~ Schools~ Golf and Recreation~ Scripps & Max Planck

Abacoa is a Regional Model

Network of Public Greens, Parks and Open Spaces

~ Well Connected~ Identifiable Neighborhood Centers Framed by Buildings (FRONTS!!)~ Highly Sophisticated in their Design

Abacoa is a Regional Model

The Basic Design of Abacoa Allows it to Improve Over Time

~ 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.

Abacoa is a Regional Model

Heavily Influenced the Strategic Regional Policy Plan

~ 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

Abacoa is a Regional Model

Provides Learning Opportunities

FAU ~ Limited Integration into Town Center

Greenway System tends to Separate Neighborhoods

Town Center Struggles

Scripps – Basically Kept Old Mecca plan

Abacoa is a Regional Model

Has Changed the DNA of Jupiter

~ 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)

Abacoa is a Regional Model

Has Changed the DNA of Jupiter

~ 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

Abacoa is a Regional Model

Has Changed the DNA of Jupiter (Military Trail in Jupiter)

The daily walk home

Abacoa is a Regional Model

Military Trail Treatment in other Parts of Palm Beach County

Abacoa is a Regional Model

The Design of Abacoa has Enabled the Town to Improve Over Time

~ Inlet Village~ Military Trail/Botannica~ Toney Penna Station

The Capitol and The Mall (looking east), 1850

The New Civic Art, 2003

Abacoa is a Regional Model

Patience ~ A Principal Ingredient of Good Urbanism

City-Building is Never Complete

Abacoa is Still a Work-In-Progress

ThankYou

Martin Luther King Blvd

A1A

59th Street

www.tcrpc.org