Mt Laurel
The Town of Mt Laurel is a 535-acre planned new-urbanist community developed by the EBSCO Development Company on a 5,800-acre tract on Double Oak Mountain between Dunnavant Valley Road and Shelby County Highway 43.
The general manager for the development is John O. Freeman, Sr. His son, John O. Freeman, Jr, is president of Town Builders, the primary contractor for the development. Rip Weaver is the landscape architect.
Design
The overall layout and design strategies for the development were laid out during a public charette in 1996. The event was led by Andres Duany of Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company of Miami, Florida, noted proponents of "New Urbanism" and the planners of Seaside and numerous other traditionally-planned communities. An important source of inspiration for the architects involved were Birmingham's hilly residential suburbs developed in the early 20th century such as Highland Park, Redmont, Mountain Brook and Edgewood.
The original 460-acre development contained three neighborhoods, a town center which focused on dense, mixed use development; a middle neighborhood on the lower hillsides with medium-density housing and parks; and an upper neighborhood with estate-sized lots on more steeply-sloping land. The first phase of development opened in 2004.
External links
- Mt Laurel website
- Mt Laurel project description at dpz.com