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ISSUE 021 | TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2026
Zone In: From Dead Mall to Data Center? ๐๏ธ๐ฅ๏ธ
A "REGENERATIVE URBAN ENERGY CENTER," ALLEGEDLY
The San Francisco Centre mall on Market Street has sat empty since its last tenants left early this year. Now a tech company, working with consultant KG Growth Partners, wants to buy the whole building. A third would become a data center. The other two-thirds would hold retail, wellness, sports, and free education space, topped by about six acres of rooftop green space. The consultant's preferred name for the data center part: a "regenerative urban energy center." [Planetizen]
The catch: the city and its downtown partners have been backing a plan to bring back retail and public space around the mall. A data center, even a well-dressed one, is a different bet. It's also just a bid. The sellers still have to pick it.
We've covered data centers as a zoning fight in Milwaukee and Alpharetta. This is the next chapter: data centers as a downtown rescue plan. Which raises the question running through this issue. Who is a place actually being built for?
THE LEGEND
๐๏ธ Site Opportunities - data centers, Portland workplaces, and UK rail
๐๏ธ Concrete Examples - Toronto's newcomer gap, Hopkinton's zoning first
๐ฉโ๐ซ Blueprint Banter - "This is about trust"
๐ผ Zoned Commercial - sponsor slot
๐ Breaking Ground - four years, $50 million, still planning
๐ ๏ธ Structural Support - grants are a skill, learn them
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๐๏ธ Site Opportunities
This Week's curated opportunities for built environment professionals
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๐๏ธ Concrete Examples
Innovative projects and designs reshaping our urban landscape
INTERNATIONAL: Toronto's Newest Riders Get the Worst Transit
In the Toronto region, 28.5% of recent immigrants commute by transit, compared with 11.6% of people born in Canada. Yet the places many newcomers live, like parts of Brampton, have some of the weakest service. One national survey found 45% of recent immigrants had turned down a job because they couldn't get there. Brampton, meanwhile, suspended four routes this spring. McMaster professor Antonio Pรกez puts the real question simply: "Does someone need to travel 15 minutes or 90 minutes to reach a doctor, supermarket, job, etc.?" [New Canadian Media] Transit networks tend to be drawn around where riders used to live. The riders moved.
SMALL TOWN LENS: Hopkinton's First Test, Behind a Pizza Place
Hopkinton, Massachusetts, best known as the start line of the Boston Marathon, just got the first project under its MBTA Communities zoning, the state law requiring towns near transit to allow multifamily housing. The proposal: 13 condos behind BoMain Pizza Bar & Grill on Main Street, two under the 15 the overlay allows by right. Neighbors raised traffic, water, and a narrow side street. One abutter: "I just don't think we have the infrastructure to support this." The hearing continues November 16. [Hopkinton Independent] This is what state housing reform looks like on the ground: 13 units, one pizzeria, and a lot of meetings.
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๐ฉโ๐ซ Blueprint Banter
Quotes worth sitting with - from industry voices and the threads themselves
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"This is about trust as much as anything, and following through on the small commitments."
- Rep. Julia Reed, Washington State House, via The Urbanist [link]
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She's talking about Seattle's Aurora Avenue (more below), but the line fits the whole issue. Hopkinton's neighbors don't trust the infrastructure. Toronto's newcomers can't trust the bus to show. Big plans lose people when the small promises don't land. Build trust with the quick fixes, then go after the big ones.
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๐ผ Zoned Commercial
A word from our sponsor
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SPONSORED BY GRAYBRIEF
You plan cities people can grow old in. Who's planning for the people in yours? ๐๏ธ
The best place to age is a walkable place. A pharmacy on the corner. A bus that shows up. A bench at the stop. Neighbors who notice when the lights stay off. You know this better than anyone - it's your whole job.
But the aging adults in your own life don't come with a comprehensive plan. Most families figure out Medicare, Medicaid, and power of attorney in the middle of a crisis, making expensive mistakes in real time.
GrayBrief is the plan. A plain-English video course organized by life stage, a companion app that keeps every document and contact in one place, and a one-on-one call with an elder care professional. Whether something happens tomorrow or five years from now, you'll know what to do. ๐
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๐ Breaking Ground
Trends and developments shaping our field
Four Years, $50 Million, Still Planning
Aurora Avenue is Seattle's deadliest street, 7.6 miles of state highway running through the city. In 2022, Washington lawmakers set aside $50 million to fix it and asked for a quick demonstration project. The city launched a corridor-wide study instead and now aims to finish planning by 2028. Rep. Julia Reed wants faster near-term fixes and has floated redirecting the money if they don't come. SDOT's acting director, Angela Brady, says the state funds are hard to spend fast: "Generally, we have found that the MAW funds have not been easy for SDOT to use for near-term work." [The Urbanist]
Last week it was LA's guerrilla crosswalks and the WSJ on deadly road design. This is the other half of that story. Even when the money shows up, the rules attached to it can slow it down for years. The good news: the two sides met one-on-one, reportedly well, and a meeting with the advocates is set for November.
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๐ ๏ธ Structural Support
Career tools to help you thrive professionally
Grants Are a Skill. Learn Them.
Aurora is a reminder that a lot of planning outcomes come down to the fine print on the funding. And competition for that money is stiff. California's latest round of Sustainable Transportation Planning Grants funded 58 of 170 applications, about $23.6 million out of $74.7 million requested. [Mad River Union] The person who can win the grant, and then actually spend it, is valuable in any agency or firm. Three ways to become that person:
- Read one funded application. Many are public record. Look at how winners frame need, cost, and readiness to build.
- Read one grant agreement. The scoring criteria get you the money. The agreement decides how fast you can spend it, which is exactly what tripped up Aurora.
- Volunteer to write one. Small towns and nonprofits are always short on grant writers. Offer a few hours. It's the fastest way to learn, and "helped win a $700K grant" reads well on any resume.
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Tags: Urban Planning ยท Adaptive Reuse ยท Data Centers ยท Transportation Planning ยท Housing ยท Built Environment Bureau
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