One acre. 17 homes. A century and a half of history.

That doesn’t even include the view from a hill.

For those looking for city life, one of Lansing’s newest development in one of the city’s oldest neighborhoods offers an unparalleled mix of sophistication, practicality and return to community.

“I don’t think a week goes by when I don’t hear people saying that they love it here,” said developer Gene Townsend of Printer’s Row, an enclave of Chicago-style row houses and Victorian-style condominiums on the southern edge of downtown. “People were waiting for us to build it, and they showed up.”

Development by demand

Odeena Development Group broke ground on Printer’s Row in October 2005. Within a year and a half, two models were ready for show.

“We’re nearly full today,” said Townsend, who along with partner Jim Coulter researched, built and marketed the new urban residential project in Lansing’s Cherry Hill district. “We have row houses, we have flats, we have two-story townhouses. We have two bedroom, three bedroom and four bedroom. We have condominiums with open floor plans and condominiums with nooks and bends. We also have the Kerr House.”

As Townsend tells it, he and Coulter had a premonition that the scattered-site, suburban, custom-home building business was drying up. Strong market demands influenced by two powerful market segments were driving the development of new urban residential projects in other parts of the country. To Odeena Development, the opportunity seemed clear for Lansing.

“Many aging baby boomers and people under 30 are saying they don’t want to live in the suburbs,” said Townsend. “They have a different outlook on the world, and a different set of preferences. People who live in cities tend to prefer things that are complex, rich and varied. They may want neighbors who come from a completely different background and speak a different language. That’s what they find exciting.”

Printer’s Row could be the penultimate location for Lansing’s “new urbanism.” The development meets standard criteria for its type, enjoying a stable neighborhood within walking distance of work, shopping, services and recreation. Plus, it fits within the context of its immediate surroundings.

“You wouldn’t, for instance, put a residential development in an abandoned train yard,” said Townsend. “There would simply be no context, let alone be walkable or stable.”

The combination of Victorian and Chicago-style row houses blends well with the architecture in Cherry Hill, which pre-dates the Civil War. And the Kerr House, situated in the middle of the new builds, brings a focal point and story that enhances the project’s appeal.

“There’s that hard-to-define quality called energy that you need to bring to an urban development project,” said Townsend. “It’s something that makes people want to sell their house and live here. We have that here with the Kerr House.”

As Townsend explained, most new urban developments have an embedded commercial component. That mixed-used quality increases foot traffic and adds variety to the area. In the case of Printer’s Row, the Kerr House brings the story and history that help new developments thrive.

The Greek Revival Kerr House is considered Lansing’s oldest standing structure. Built in 1854, it was the primary residence of John Kerr, the state’s first printer, founder of the Lansing State Journal, and Lansing’s second mayor.

Kerr built his house on Cherry Hill, overlooking the village of Lansing, now a plat of land beyond the expanse of I-496. When the Capitol was built a dozen years later, the commercial center of the city shifted a half-mile north, leaving Cherry Hill to residents.

“The Kerr House was a selling point for us,” said Printer’s Row resident Bob Christensen, coordinator of the National Register of Historic Places at the State Historic Preservation Office.  “Living here is interesting because the neighborhood has some of the neater 19^th and 20^th century houses in the city.”

When you add that Ransom E. Olds lived in Cherry Hill, and built cars just a stone’s throw away, Printer’s Row becomes a pinnacle of new urbanism.

“We’re using good architecture and modern science to create denser living situations,” said Townsend of the energy-efficient and green-build quality of the new homes. “The world seems to be ready for it.”

Reflective of Odeena Development’s philosophy, residents of Printer’s Row will benefit from environmentally conscious build features that reduce energy use, ensure clean indoor air, and preserve greenspace. A rain garden storm water system on the edge of the development reduces outflow from the property and filters storm water. The development exceeds standards for the federal Energy Star program, with features like double-wall sheathing; 2 x 6 wall construction with spray insulation; high-efficiency windows, furnaces and water heaters; programmable thermostats; and Energy Star- labeled appliances. Most recently, Printer’s Row met benchmarks for the design, construction and performance of green buildings set by the Leadership in Environment and Energy Design program through the U.S. Green Building Council.

“Climate change is going to be a defining fact of life,” reflected Townsend. “I feel responsibility to future generations to do what I can to limit its effect. It’s my belief that increasing the density at which people live, and returning them to patterns of human habitation that they followed thousands of years ago—as opposed to the last 60—will help.”