Attracting transit-oriented development (TOD) is a goal of many new transit projects, particularly those seeking funding through the federal New Starts program. A recent crop of new mixed-use developments shows the potential of bus rapid transit (BRT) to catalyze TOD and economic development in North America, and has significant implications for transit agencies and federal policy on transit funding.

Recent BRT-Related Development Projects

In May 2007, the Remington Group broke ground on Downtown Markham, a 243-acre, transit-oriented site located in the York Region, a wealthy suburb of Toronto. Downtown Markham will include 4,000 new condominiums and townhouses and more than 4.2 million square feet of office space. The heart of the project will be Simcoe Promenade, a “grand allée” lined with shops, restaurants, offices and residences. It will be open only to pedestrians and the region’s VIVA BRT system — not to cars.

Downtown Markham will be the largest mixed-use development of its kind in North America, according to the Remington Group. It was inspired by Europe's mixed-use communities, with a vision of promoting sustainability and encouraging car-free and pedestrian-friendly urban living, not previously seen in any North American suburb. Total investment will be at least $3 billion and the residences are being marketed as luxury units, with townhouses starting at more than $630,000.

The VIVA system is a phased strategy for BRT implementation. VIVA currently has five lines, more than 90 custom shelters and stations, traffic signal priority, and fare collection and real-time vehicle arrival signs in the stations. Planning for Phase I of VIVA began in 2001 and opened just four years later. The capital costs for VIVA Phase I were $150 million. Phase II construction will begin next year and includes adding dedicated transit lanes, such as the segment on Simcoe Promenade. The Remington Group refers extensively to VIVA in its marketing material and Web site.

Downtown Markham is one of the largest new TOD projects associated with BRT, but it is not the only one. Cleveland’s Euclid Corridor BRT, which is still under construction, has already attracted more than $800 million in new, mixed-use development and more than $2.4 billion is planned, according to the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCTRA). In response to a recent survey, GCRTA characterized this development as comparable to what they might expect in a rail corridor. GCRTA also indicated that the BRT line was a “very important” factor for developers in choosing the location of their project, and that developers are “very interested” in investing near future BRT lines.

In California, construction is expected to begin later this year on the El Monte Transit Village, a 60-acre, $1.2-billion town center located about 15 miles east of Los Angeles. The project includes 1,850 residential units, 560,000 square feet of retail and entertainment, 500,000 square feet of Class A office space, a 200-room hotel, theater, conference center, the restoration of historic structures and more than 11 acres of parkland. It will surround the El Monte bus station, a busy bus transit facility that serves multiple bus routes and the existing El Monte busway. The Village is reported to be the largest TOD project in Southern California.

Boston’s Silver Line BRT has helped catalyze an explosion of development in the South Boston waterfront area. Nearly 4 million square feet of new development opened in South Boston between 1998 and 2006 and nearly 9 million additional square feet are planned within a one-half mile radius of the Silver Line Waterfront service.