everything. It’s the same sort of system used for downtown and the development planned in West Montgomery. Ironically, that is one reason that Hampstead feels so old-world. It’s an urban farm community. Conceived about a year and a half ago, Hampstead is a $500 million joint
ON THE URBAN
FARM
Smart code embodied in every aspect of Hampstead by David Zaslawsky
When a reporter is given an opportunity to take a guided tour of the Town of Hampstead by the visionaries who created it, you jump at the chance.
project of The Colonial Co., City Loft Corp. (Lowder and Sahota) and Duany Plater-Zyberk and Co., the creator of Seaside and Rosemary Beach, Florida.
The minute you hop onto an electricpowered vehicle, and there’s talk of turning used oil from the Ham and High restaurant into biodiesel fuel, you realize this is not your father’s real estate development.
Located just a mile-and-half from the intersection of Taylor and Vaughn roads, Hampstead is about two miles from The Shoppes at EastChase. It opened last summer.
On the 3-acre Hampstead Farms, there is a real red barn, with a real farmer who harvests and delivers produce to an on-site restaurant. And members of the Hampstead community can and do grow their own tomatoes, okra, peas, squash and herbs.
“At first we thought, ‘are we being crazy in Montgomery? Is this really just too far out?’ We’ve seen that the biggest feature that residents and visitors have been attracted to is Hampstead Farms,” Lowder said.
“In August, we have these amazing sunflowers,” said Anna Lowder, who with husband Harvi Sahota are directors of design and development for the 416acre Hampstead project. “We had some sunflowers that were over 10 feet tall.”
Smart code means that it is designed for the pedestrian experience, which allows for smaller, narrower streets. There is an abundance of places for residents to mingle, for dogs to be walked (at “The Barking Lot”) and for children to run around. CONTINUED ON PAGE 26
And it’s all according to plan. The Town of Hampstead follows a strict development code, called “smart” code, which mandates things such as tree spacing and playgrounds within a 3-minute walk. (There are nine of them.) Lighting, signage, lots… the code addresses almost
June 2010 Montgomery Business Journal
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