Sunday, April 22, 2007

Air Rights and Development

Transit agencies are seeing the benefits of TOD so why don't they allow their air rights to be developed over the stations? Here in the Bay Area BART stations that are above ground would be helped by an air rights scheme. If each station was an office complex (on the station, not around it) it would signal that these areas were hubs for other development to follow. It's beginning to and some of the parking lots have started to be redeveloped but if the air rights above stations and perhaps even a station makeover was made it might make a bigger impact. They sold the air rights above Penn Station.

Another idea I had to fund streetcar or light rail lines was for a private company to buy underutilized large parcels along a corridor they want to develop and redevelop them to create a fund for building transit. If this corporation or development partnership were to fund most of the line, perhaps it would be much more transit oriented and built right given they have a higher stake in its success.

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