Andrés Duany and Jeff Speck join Lorelei team
June 16, 2016
CHARLESTON, SC – Today, North American Properties (NAP) announced that DPZ Partners, led by Andres Duany, and Jeff Speck will serve as Master Planner and Special Advisor, respectively, for Lorelei, its planned experiential mixed use waterfront community in Charleston, South Carolina. Lorelei is located on a premier 160-acre waterfront site on Charleston’s growing Upper Peninsula currently known as Laurel Island and is central to the Port of Charleston and city’s emerging tech scene.
“We are excited to welcome DPZ Partners and Jeff Speck, who are best-in-class in their respective fields, to the Lorelei team,” said Mark Toro, NAP’s managing partner. “Lorelei will bring together the creator of New Urbanism and the nation’s leading expert on walkability to create an unparalleled opportunity for placemaking in Charleston.”
Lorelei will offer retail, restaurants, a food hall, hotel, meeting space, offices, parking and boat access, multifamily residences, single family homes, community gathering spaces and an entertainment venue on the water. Lorelei construction is expected to begin immediately upon clearing regulatory and financing milestones.
Andrés Duany, Lorelei Master Planner has dedicated more than 30 years to pioneering a vision for sustainable urban development and its implementation. As an architect, urban designer, planner and author, he has influenced planners and designers worldwide, redirected government policies in the U.S. and abroad and produced plans for hundreds of new and renewed communities of lasting value. In March of 2015, Duany conducted a week-long effort to study the City of Charleston’s Board of Architectural Review process and recommended changes. His work has been recognized with numerous awards, including the Richard Driehaus Award, the Jefferson Medal, The Vincent Scully Prize and several honorary doctorates.
Jeff Speck, Lorelei Special Advisor is a city planner and urban designer who advocates internationally for more walkable cities through writing, lectures and built work. As Director of Design at the National Endowment for the Arts from 2003 through 2007, he oversaw the Mayors’ Institute on City Design and created the Governors’ Institute on Community Design, a federal program that helps state governors fight suburban sprawl. Speck is the author of Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time and the coauthor of Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream as well as The Smart Growth Manual.
In keeping with their “build community before building community” approach to development, NAP is currently conducting a discovery tour, listening to the Charleston community and a world-class team of urbanists with specialties in waterfront properties. On June 27, Toro will lead an interactive discussion for the Charleston community with Duany and Speck focused on urban development, walkability and placemaking. NAP will invite people to share thoughts and ideas via social media and through neighborhood meetings. For more information, visit and engage with Lorelei and team NAP on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @LoreleiCHS.
For more information, visit www.loreleichs.com.
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 19 million square feet of retail and 17,000 apartment 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, please visit naproperties.com.
