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Are banks a roadblock to walkable development?

Category: Walkable Communities

Published Date

Written by Randy Garbin

This article comes by way of the Salt Lake Tribune and makes a good case for getting banks on board with the whole "walkable communities" bandwagon. Bankers are by nature not the most creative types, seeking to stick with the tried and true. In my experience, every development in search of financing I've ever had the privilege of reviewing always seems to put parking at the top of the priority list. This has to change.

By Derek P. Jensen

The Salt Lake Tribune

Salt Lake City's new-urbanism epiphany -- fervently backed by Mayor Ralph Becker and the City Council -- appears to be catching static from an unlikely source.

Transit-oriented development isn't stymied by outdated zoning, unwilling developers or a lack of space. It turns out, banks, wedded to old-fashioned lending standards that stress parking, may pose the biggest blockade by denying financing.

The reason: Lenders operate from a tried-and-true principle that maintains more parking means less risk and a higher return on their investment. But ditching cars is the whole point of urban developers looking to create 24-hour live, work and play environments that hug light-rail hubs.

Take the capital's gateway district, which soon could be further revived by a North Temple TRAX train, a new viaduct and millions in streetscape upgrades. City leaders envision a walkable, vibrant mix of housing, retail, restaurants and offices that one day will bridge the FrontRunner hub and a new North Temple transit station along downtown's western rim.

But commercial investors, including one with a $100 million blueprint, complain banks cannot grasp the concept and instead slam their doors.

Read the rest of the story here.