Re-Use & Redevelopment

With a global focus on responsible use of resources, two real estate practices are finding new momentum - reuse and redevelopment.  Finding unused buildings and "remaking" or repurposing them into something that can and will be used today achieves many goals.  It minimizes building material while capitalizing on existing structures.  It also helps revitalize areas of the community that have fallen out of use.    While many of these non-traditional makeovers end up with fairly traditional looks, recycled building material can also make for some

 very funky buildings as seen in these "junkitecture" examples.  This community center in Amsterdam, Netherlands (right) is made of recycled sinks!  Some recycled material is more difficult to identify in the form of recycled drywall, bricks, and steel.  Reuse can also take the form of renovating a building for a new purpose.  This has been seen in everything from old warehouses being coming loft apartments to deteriorated waterfronts becoming destination locales for retail and dining, even a vacant church becoming a library (see above). 



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Redevelopment may not use all the existing buildings, but it looks at land and attempts to identify the highest and best use based on current demands.  It is the reclaiming of land for another use and often requires demolition (or recycling) of existing buildings.  One local example of redevelopment has been on the site of the Old Cowboy Stadium in Irving, Texas.  The triangular piece of land is the merging point of Highways 114 and 183 and is minutes from downtown Dallas.  The master plan for the now vacant site is a multi-use retail, business, living development that capitalizes on the extraordinary location and visibility of the site.  Another exceptional and completed redevelopment project id High Line Park in NYC.  An abandoned inner city rail road track has been transformed into a pedestrian park and walkway.

Seeing beyond the obvious is the key to the success of the redevelopment, repurposing movements.  Both of these approaches require out of the box, creative thinking and both are meeting a growing demand for responsible development.The ability to see what could be may be one of the greatest keys to success in this growing real estate initiative.