As we explore the many examples of “City” throughout this blog and over our time together, we acknowledge the many factors which can influence the design that is executed. Location is always considered the primary influence on Real Estate. We must also recognize the era in which the “place” was created.
In Portofino, location is good fortune because it is the geography that makes this place. What began as a fishing village, today is a jewel in Italy. “Pliny the Elder (AD 23 – AD 79) referred to Portus Delphini (Port of the Dolphin) as on the Ligurian coast between Genoa and the Gulf of Tigullio.” (Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portofino) Contrast that to Faneuil Hall Marketplace, in which the iconic and cornerstone building, which opened in 1743, was destroyed by fire in 1761, and rebuilt by the town in 1762. (More on Faneuil Hall later, and the Rouse Companies)
We speak much about “patterns” here. Consider patterns the two dimensional schematic which underlies a place. Patterns can make or break any property. In Portofino’s case, the underlying pattern required a certain creativity to fit its desired uses. But what was desired in its beginning as a fishing village has changed drastically today. The mega-yachts that park outside the village in the Ligurian Sea, inform the popularity of this charming port town.
Consider the marketplaces of today, sprawling throughout the many suburbs of the United States. The developers of these places work with patterns in a much different way. The automobile drives pattern in these places.
Ok, at first glance, this might not be a fair depiction of retail in the United States. As Faneuil Hall depicts above, there are other patterns of retail in the US. However, be cautioned that the financial metrics, which drive commercial-retail development in the US, are real and powerful. Abacoa, in Jupiter, Florida (more on Abacoa later), broke from the patterns of the day and, according to many commercial-retail experts, paid the price for it.
Admittedly, finding geography like Portofino is rather unlikely today. That should not mean that we cannot create “wonder” in our retail districts in NewCity.
