DPZ Holiday Newsletter 2024

The time has come to bid farewell to a fast-paced and action-packed 2024. It is important to take a moment to reflect on all we have experienced, learned, and shared as we look ahead to 2025.

2024 kept us occupied with numerous charrettes, conferences, and updates to ongoing projects. We are excited to share some of our highlights with you.

May the new year bring you all continued health and happy prospects.

To read and learn more in depth about our work this past year, check out the other posts on the DPZ Pulse.

To close out the year, DPZ celebrated with our annual Company Meet and Holiday Office Party. Our three offices gathered to share valuable lessons from the past year and brainstorm ways to make 2025 even better.

The following day was packed with tours and exploration of several great South Florida neighborhoods: the Miami Design District (led by Lizz), Wynwood (led by Wynwood BID), and South Beach. These adventures gave new employees the opportunity to learn from DPZ veterans about some of our firm’s contributions to the local urban realm.

DPZ’s three offices were busy in 2024 with a variety of new public and private sector projects. We were also excited to see ongoing projects continuing to grow. Here are some highlights:

Some of the most notable updates the Miami team have seen include:

• Fishkill, NY – DPZ, in collaboration with Alex Gorlin Architects, participated in a developers’ bid for the redevelopment of a state penitentiary facility. The bid was successful, and the DPZ renderings and master plan were exhibited on the NY Governor’s website here.
• Vero Beach, FL – Last February, a charrette took place for the revitalization of Downtown Vero Beach. The Master Plan was approved by Council in May. While the referendum to raise downtown density failed on Election Day, the planning director has expressed confidence that many of DPZ’s master plan recommendations can be implemented. Additionally, a new RFP for the Three Corners redevelopment into mixed-use center was issued, moving the much anticipated project to the next stage. Learn more about Vero Beach here and Three Corners here.
• Naples Design District, FL – The design for the Pilot Block for the Design Walk has evolved, more interaction with the property owners is expected in the first quarter of 2025, and updates will be presented to the City Council in late January. Read more about DPZ’s history with Naples here.
• The Village in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada – The Village began in 1997 and has been a labor of love with DPZ guiding its planning and architecture for decades. In 2017, DPZ designed the Village Center master plan and code and is now overseeing its final phase as Town Architect, moving toward completion in 2025. Learn more about Village in Niagara on the Lake here.
• Hendrick Farm, Chelsea, Canada – DPZ began design work for Hendrick Farm in 2016 and continues as the town architect, contributing to the design phases that are now underway. Learn more about Hendrick Farm here.
• Meridian Commons, Meridianville, AL – 10 years after the Village of Providence Charrette, DPZ returned to Huntsville, AL, this past summer to design a new community 10 miles north of the downtown. The 568-acre project will consist of 3 new walkable neighborhoods and a regional park. The project aims to establish an activity node for a sector of suburban Madison County that currently has no real urban center, and will begin with a mixed-use hamlet at the northeast corner of the property. A number of parks will highlight the site’s natural features, including the Overlook Bluff whose pavilion graces our animated holiday card above.

The DC Office has rounded out 2024 with a great deal of international work, but a few significant domestic ones as well. In addition, a number of events and lectures have kept the travel schedule quite active. Notable project updates include:

• Musqueam Village, BC, Canada – Master planning work on this master plan for the Musqueam band outside Vancouver has been completed this year. Local architectural firms, including Perkins & Will, are now working on the first phase.
• Loreto Bay, Mexico – A resort town designed the same week as Alys Beach has returned to DPZ to redo their design code.
• Skylands, Tasmania – This 300-hectare site in Australia was approved by Council this year, and the city is now working on a Structure Plan based on the one developed by DPZ in 2020.
• Friday Harbour, ON, Canada – This 2003 DPZ project achieved a number of milestones the past year, and is now looking to densify around its waterfront. Read more about the updates on this project here.
• Ivanhoe Village, IL – This 800-ac new town in Mundelein was designed in 2022. This year, we have worked on securing entitlements, and developing the codes for the village. Phase 1 is also being developed to accommodate multiple builders.
• Cane Bay Village, SC – The design process for this 900+-acre new village with a town center anchored to an existing conventional project began in 2019. It has required 2 codes for 2 different municipalities with the client negotiating with each. Following a moratorium on all development in the County that has been lifted, PUD and Plan approvals are now in process.
• Walton County Comp Plan EAR, FL – This past spring, a visioning charrette was held to commence the design for a Comprehensive Plan Update. With the assessment now complete, the next step is to assemble a list of recommendations to the County. Read more about this project here.
• Middle East – The flow of work in this region continued with a new town project and several public codes. Some promising new RFPs should keep DPZ traveling to this region in 2025.

DPZ’s Portland Office has moved and expanded to the Pearl District in Downtown Portland in 2024, while advancing a diverse portfolio of projects. Some of their most notable project updates include:

• Winnipeg, MB, Canada – Workshopped in June, DPZ’s by-right zoning code for high-density, incremental development of strip malls, malls, and major corridors throughout the city was adopted this fall. In the works, is by-right zoning for missing middle housing.
• Northwest Arkansas – The Portland office has seen the passing of a new unified development code and future land use map in Rogers, AR, development of a fiscally-based future land use map for Bentonville, AR, has received multiple awards, and the office took part in an Urban Thinkers Campus as part of ULI Northwest Arkansas’s annual Place Summit along with PLACE Initiative.
• Orange County, FL, Code – In collaboration with DPZ DC, a great deal of work went into developing this county-wide code in Central FL, in 2024. After a midyear pause, a home stretch is envisioned in early 2025.
• Montava, Fort Collins – Approval of phase 1 is underway and will begin construction in 2025. See past updates on Montava here.
• Clore Station, KY – The phase-1 design for this community, a neighbor of DPZ’s Norton Commons, is complete with construction slated to commence in 2025.
• Vista Field, Kennewick, WA – With construction on the first building now underway, Vista Field has received four additional Town Architect Review applications. For a better visual, The Port of Kennewick released this aerial video here.
• Nonprofit Work – Portland’s the office has contributed to both the Congress for the New Urbanism and PLACE Initiative, two non-profits closely tied to the work of DPZ. You can learn more about PLACE Initiative’s mission and efforts here.

This October, DPZ Partner Senen Antonio joined the NTBA in Winter Haven, FL for the annual Fall Roundtable. Members gathered in the “Chain of Lakes City” to examine the downtown development in Central Florida that has succeeded through the use of local capital and by reviving and animating one building at a time.

The purpose of roundtable discussions are to bring together industry specialists and NTBA members to share their expertise with the goal of advancing the town building industry.

Read more about NTBA’s Fall Roundtable here.

Also in October, DPZ Partner Marina Khoury was at the United Nations 19th Annual Session of the Global Forum on Human Settlements (GHFS) in New York. She took part in a panel on innovation and integration in urban planning and design.

She showcased DPZ’s various Initiatives such as Transect-based development, Agrarian Urbanism, Sprawl Repair, Light Imprint, Lifelong Communities, and Green By Design. Earlier in the summer, Marina had served as a juror for the awards given out by the UN Environmental Program – GHFS. The award ceremony was part of this October forum.

In addition, Carlos Moreno gave a presentation on the 15-minute city, the idea for which he credited many, including Lizz and Andres.

In November, Marina was in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for Cityscape Global 2024. She participated in an Oxford Style debate comparing the virtues of skyscrapers vs. low-rise buildings. As you might expect she advocated for the many urban benefits of low-rise buildings.The session was moderated by Anthony Woods, President of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. She was joined in the discussion by Paul Rodgers of 10 Design, Maxime Laroussi of Urban Agency, and Mohammed Al Mohammed of Retai.

In December, Lizz Plater-Zyberk spoke at the USGBC’s Florida Building Transformation Forum. The event was held to celebrate the achievements of Florida’s leadership in shaping the green building industry. The activities included a Centennial Village Tour, cocktail hour, awards reception, a Leadership in Green Building Panel, and a Keynote Address by Lizz on New Urbanism and South Florida’s Role.

Learn more about this event and the agenda here.

Settling into the 2024 holiday season we are very much aware of our friends in the South who are still in response mode to this year’s hurricanes. We are grateful that friends and communities in which DPZ has worked in the region survived the storms safely. But damage to individual homes and community assets have been enormous and the recovery will be prolonged.

Read more about DPZ’s thoughts on pathways to recovery from Helene and Milton here.

Finally, we are happy to share “Winter Walk”, the 2024 Hallmark commercial set in Norton Commons, is here.

“The holidays are for honoring your favorite traditions. And over the years, those traditions turn into some of your most cherished memories.”

Here’s to a joyful and safe holiday season, and we will see you all again in 2025!