Lorelei project team returns to Charleston for weeklong design charrette
October 12, 2016
This summer, North American Properties (NAP) revealed plans to transform 160 acres of waterfront property on Charleston’s upper peninsula into Lorelei, an experiential mixed-use community on Laurel Island. In an effort to “build community before building community,” the Lorelei project team will host a weeklong process known as a charrette in Charleston from October 16–21 to assess the existing site conditions and determine a guiding vision with key project stakeholders.
The charrette process, developed by DPZ Partners, led by Lorelei Master Planners Marina Khoury and Andrés Duany, is typically a one to two-week working session in which key decision-makers to a project collaborate with the project team to share information about the site and create iterative design proposals at a rapid pace, condensing months of project coordination into a matter of days.
“This charrette will be one of the most critical and exciting weeks for Lorelei,” said Mark Toro, managing partner of NAP. “We are looking forward to hosting open discussions with the public, the city and design experts to work toward one common goal of shaping the vision and framework for Lorelei.”
During the Lorelei design charrette, project leaders will meet with stakeholders, including residents, developers, city staff, designers and other experts for a sequence of transparent discussions and workshops. During this collaborative process, project leaders will guide participants through a series of presentations that highlight topics such as infrastructure, geotechnical reports, building types and uses, public programming and design. Important aspects such as land use, recreation and transportation will also be discussed. Throughout the week, designers will create individual plans to match their interpretation of what the site will look and feel like, yielding one or more concepts for Lorelei by the week’s end.
Community Events
On Monday, October 17, the Lorelei project team will kick off the charrette with a public event at Edmund’s Oast at 6:00 p.m. with a panel discussion from Andres Duany, Jeff Speck, Mark Toro and Lamar Wakefield to share their goals for the week and gather feedback from the community followed by a mid-term presentation also open to the public on Wednesday, October 19, at 7:30 p.m. at the Gaillard. The charrette will conclude with an event on Friday, October 21, at 6:00 p.m., also at the Gaillard Center, to present findings and key learnings from the week and share its initial designs for Lorelei with the community.
For more information, visit www.loreleichs.com, and engage with Lorelei and team NAP on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @LoreleiCHS and via the hashtag #imaginechs.
Editor’s Note: For photos of Lorelei, visit https://goo.gl/tDY6hL.
About North American Properties
Founded in 1954, North American Properties is a privately held, multi-regional real estate operating company that has acquired, developed and managed more than $5 billion of mixed-use, retail, multifamily and office properties across the United States. Headquartered in Cincinnati, with offices in Atlanta, Dallas and Fort Myers, Florida, the company has developed 20 million square feet of retail and 19,000 residential units in 12 states. In the past three years, North American Properties has launched 36 projects totaling $1.1 billion in total capitalization. In Atlanta, North American Properties owns Avalon, Colony Square and Anthem on Ashley. For more information, visit naproperties.com.
