The recent proliferation of transit villages throughout the country is being called a revolution in community planning. These villages hope to solve a myriad of urban ills, including gridlock, sprawl, dependency on the automobile and pollution. A model transit village is one of the exciting new developments being planned in Pasadena, Calif., at the corner of Del Mar Street and Arroyo Parkway, across from Central Park. Called Del Mar Station, the four-building infill complex will literally straddle the station platform. Under development by Urban Partners, LLC, of Los Angeles, with the assistance of landscape architecture firm Mel????(C)ndrez Design Partners and design architect Moule and Polyzoides, it will comprise 347 apartments (both market-rate and affordable), 10,000 s.f. of small retail stores, 600 parking spaces for transit riders and 625 parking spaces for residents, in subterranean garages. The project is being built in two phases. Phase I, which includes the station platforms and 600 parking spaces for transit riders, jointly developed by Urban Partners and the Pasadena Blue Line Construction Authority, is scheduled to open in July with the opening of all 13 stations. Phase II, a mixed-use development comprised of seven stories of housing, ?EUR??,,????'??+ with retail on the plaza areas of the ground floor ?EUR??,,????'??+ above four levels of subterranean parking, privately developed by Urban Partners, is slated to open in the first quarter of 2004. According to Bernick and Cervero?EUR??,,????'???s book on transit-oriented development, the public and civic space that surrounds the station is the centerpiece of a transit village. This plaza has additional importance because it will serve northbound transit riders as the door to Pasadena?EUR??,,????'???s celebrated Old Town shopping district, a few minutes?EUR??,,????'??? walk. Developer John Hrovat says that while Del Mar Station?EUR??,,????'???s plaza needs to be safe because there is a train operating adjacent to it, there must be a place where people feel comfortable, wish to congregate and converse. ?EUR??,,????'??The plaza is the fabric that will blend and mesh these things together, while celebrating the architecture of the residential component and the historic train station,?EUR??,,????'?? observed Hrovat. ?EUR??,,????'??Our intent was to create a public space that transcends transit needs to become an important civic space and urban destination,?EUR??,,????'?? says Scott Baker, an associate at Mel????(C)ndrez Design Partners. The design team proposed to move the existing Santa Fe Depot back from the tracks, expanding the plaza to create a public space of civic quality for large public gatherings. As the landscape of the existing depot was historically recognized, the plantings developed in the new plaza and around the depot?EUR??,,????'???s new location were designed to emulate the historic character of the original site. The addition of large specimen trees along the track right-of-way, and several modest water features within the plaza, will help mitigate the heat. When the developer purchased the site, it was a parking lot, vacant except for the old Santa Fe Depot, long the Pasadena stop for the Santa Fe Railroad?EUR??,,????'???s passenger train. The historic depot building (circa early 1900s), which is being restored and adapted as a restaurant, will set the tone for the Mediterranean-style character of the surrounding architecture and courtyard buildings, and become the centerpiece of the new civic plaza. The plaza is envisioned in the spirit of the traditional piazza. In this contemporary rendition, the concrete paving simulates fields of terra cotta paving with grouted joints, interrupted by a grid of banding in a warm tan color. The raised planter walls that skirt the depot and form a green edge around the plaza are constructed of block, and finished in stucco, with authentic terra cotta wall caps. Pilasters adorned with pots containing ornamental olive trees punctuate these walls. A raised circular terrace featuring a fountain and wooden benches set beneath a cluster of California Sycamore trees provides a shaded alternative to waiting on the transit platform for the train. Raised 24?EUR??,,????'?? above the plaza, the terrace is paved with simulated terra cotta, and enclosed by a semi-circular plaster wall. Pilasters that match those of the planter walls at the depot interrupt the radial steps. Teak benches and tables and chairs beneath large, canvas market umbrellas by Smith & Hawken throughout the plaza will provide a wide range of casual outdoor seating opportunities for the restaurant and caf????(C) patrons, as well as for people in transit. The front doors to the old depot are on axis with a major paseo, or pedestrian walkway, which serves as the primary pedestrian entrance from the east. ?EUR??,,????'??It was imperative that the two halves of the project be connected visually across the track bed,?EUR??,,????'?? says Baker. ?EUR??,,????'??So, we decided to carry the paving materials of the plaza eastward through the paseo, connecting to Arroyo Parkway like a carpet. As a result, the entire public realm reads as one entity, despite its being dissected by the rail line.?EUR??,,????'?? Influenced by historic Pasadena and Santa Barbara icons, the paseo, in addition to the paving, is lined with a series of oversized, decorative custom pots from Quick Crete Products. These will be planted with large Italian cypress to form a series of ?EUR??,,????'??green columns.?EUR??,,????'?? Each of the four residential buildings is organized around a private, central, open-air courtyard that is secure from the public domain. The courtyards function as outdoor rooms. Shaded sitting areas, cooled by modest water features and canopy trees, provide opportunities for casual encounters between neighbors, helping foster a sense of community. Paths of concrete paving connect the residential entrances and define a series of at-grade cobble gardens. As the entire complex is constructed on a podium, the canopy trees, which align the primary walks within each court, are planted in oversized, concrete pots (Quick Crete Products and Goodwin International), on low plinths located in the cobble. While many of the hardscape materials are consistent in each of the residential courts, signature trees, such as bamboo, olive and crape myrtle, make each courtyard unique. Moule & Polyzoides, design architects for the project, have designed the complex according to the concepts of transit-oriented development. While courtyard buildings of Mediterranean character surround the restored depot, contemporary block buildings of an industrial look respond to the context along Arroyo Parkway, lending a strong urban edge to the corridor. A landmark building, with a two-story arcade and a 10-story tower element, marks the corner of Del Mar Avenue and Arroyo Parkway. Because the development takes up an entire city block, the architects focused on developing an architectural language that changed and transitioned as one moves around the block. Instead of the development reading as a super-block of similar architecture, it reads as a collection of buildings, penetrated by pedestrian streets and a train corridor. Similarly, the streetscape responds to different conditions and character as it wraps around the project. Along Arroyo Parkway, the residential stoops are constructed of block, with a plaster finish vibrantly colored to match the adjacent buildings. At the corner of Del Mar and Raymond Avenues, the walls are again stucco, but washed white and adorned with a natural terra cotta wall cap to emulate the Mediterranean-revival feeling established by the new construction and the historic depot. The Landscape Architects wore two hats on this project. Not only did the firm design all the hardscape for this development, but, in their role as urban designer and landscape architect for the Gold Line, they further developed concept designs for all 13 stations along the 13.7-mile Gold Line route. (Gruen Associates and Fred Glick, currently of Huitt Zollars, created plans in an earlier stage of this project). In order to facilitate the design and construction of the stations and rights-of-way, MDP worked with all the communities along the route, interpreting their needs and resolving design issues. Asked if this highly complex project took a long while to develop, Hrovat replied that it went quite smoothly, thanks to a competent team of consultants who were familiar with the City and the Blue Line Authority. ?EUR??,,????'??This was a collaborative effort involving Urban Partners, the MTA, City of Pasadena and Pasadena Blue Line Construction Authority. Mel????(C)ndrez Design Partners worked with Moule & Polyzoides to facilitate all of the exchanges of information that led to a world-class design,?EUR??,,????'?? says Hrovat. ?EUR??,,????'??Our company is committed to transit-oriented, urban-infill projects. We believe that not only are these projects good, sound business transactions, but they answer a compelling social need to mitigate the traffic congestion that all of us living here deal with daily.?EUR??,,????'?? Two years from now, when Del Mar Station?EUR??,,????'???s residents set off for work in downtown Los Angeles, they will be able to run a few errands, stop into a caf????(C), and grab a paper, before settling down for the 14-minute ride, a commute that previously took half an hour.