Sister and Brother Become Sustainable Developers By Accident

Eric Fredericks • Friday September 23, 2005

Kudos to CNN for their second new urbanism/walkable neighborhoods article that I have read this week. A brother and sister duo bought 40 acres of land in the Colorado community of Buena Vista, intending to develop it as a whitewater park along the Arkansas River. Instead, they wound up developing a walkable neighborhood called South Main, complete with mixed use development that connects to the existing downtown. They expected the properties of the first phase of the development to sell out in a year or two. They sold out in a month and a half. The best part is the age of the developers: Katie Selby is 29 and Jed is 27.

People like these are the developers of the future, my friends. Be prepared! I certainly can’t wait…

Check out their South Main development website. They note on the website that a source of their inspiration is from Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream, an outstanding book that I have also read.