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Charles Landry and Steve Oubre first crossed paths as fraternity brothers back in the 1970s when one of them still drove a purple Charger; the other, a yellow Volkswagon.

Landry and Robert Daigle quickly got acquainted across the table from one another during rather contentious negotiations in a Youngsville land deal. And Daigle fostered his friendship with Oubre over coffee and philosophical conversations about smart growth.

But it wasn’t until the lawyer, the architect and the developer kept running into each other on traditional neighborhood development ventures along the corridor that they decided to pool their talents and expertise for the increasingly popular ⎯ and profitable ⎯ cause of New Urbanism.

Their newly formed consulting group, Traditional Neighborhood Development Consultants, offers clients triple expertise to get such projects off the ground: One of the most sought-after TND planners in the South to design the project, the famed developer of Louisiana’ first TND to proffer building advice, and a lawyer to guide them through the zoning regulations and write the codes.

“Charles is really the one who pulled us all together and said, ‘Look, I’m doing all this work for my clients from a regulatory standpoint, Steve’s doing master plans and Robert, you’re development,” Daigle says. “’It just seems like the three of us could put together a consulting service that could help these landowners really get their projects developed.’ I said, ‘You know Charles, it sounds wonderful in theory,’ but in the back of my mind I’m thinking, ‘How the hell am I ever going to find time to get involved on a consulting basis?’ But Charles was pretty insistent. Eventually, he just broke down our defenses.”

TNDC emerges just as traditional neighborhood developments have popped up like prairie dogs along the corridor and across the country. From Lake Charles to Slidell, at least a dozen are up and running, under construction or on the drawing board. Nationwide, 1,000 exist and another 4,000 are in the works.

TNDs are the polar opposite of conventional suburban developments. The latter are typically characterized by similarly sized and priced homes built upon large tracts of land removed from commercial areas. TNDs, on the other hand, purposely meld a variety of home styles and mix in retail and cultural attractions ⎯ the idea being that residents can satisfy most of their needs within walking distance. The concept hearkens back to older urban developments like the French Quarter, but was born of the 1990s New Urbanism movement as a countermeasure to sprawl.

Oubre and Daigle are responsible for Louisiana’s first TND, River Ranch in Lafayette. The project got off the ground in 1998 when there were but 20 such developments in the entire country, and it was an uphill battle for the pair. Homeowners on nearby Steiner Road fiercely fought it, fearing the high-density development would lower their property values. Construction required more than 100 variances to existing zoning regulations. Today, the thriving project paves the way for others in the state and the nation.

The three partners recently sat down with 10/12 magazine to talk about the proliferation of TNDs along the corridor, whether the housing slump will slow that growth and other issues. What follows are excerpts from that interview.

10/12: Why is the corridor so ripe for traditional neighborhood developments?

Oubre: When you look at what Louisiana has envisioned for the corridor, the thought is to allow people to build stronger, safer and more securely, in part by getting them away from the coast. The end result of this is that as this begins to occur, the amount of people living across the corridor presents a tremendous amount of opportunity for the state to become more efficient in their resources. We don’t have the resources that are necessary to build more schools, more streets, more utilities, more fire and police, etc. The concept of becoming more efficient with development has a huge impact on the resources that we have politically. Secondly, over the long-term, you’re going to see more green communities being built and part of that greening of Louisiana will be in transportation models. And so one thought we had and the Center for Planning Excellence is obviously behind is that once you develop traditional neighborhood developments along the corridor, light rail and those kinds of things become more viable. A well-designed TND also takes one-third less land to put the same number of people, so consequently we can preserve some of the great properties that exist rather than turning it into urban sprawl.

How do you respond to critics who insist TNDs are nothing more than urban cloning?

Daigle: That doesn’t offend me at all. My response is that there are some wonderful things about the built urban environment that people love. And if you’re accusing me of trying to replicate that, then do it all day long. The proof is in the pudding that people are buying into it. We’re meeting an untapped demand that’s been out there.

What lessons has River Ranch taught you?

Daigle: People have asked me, ‘What would you differently?’ I say, ‘Very, very little.’ If you look at the first master plan, we have ventured very little from that. What would I do different? The most important lesson River Ranch has taught me is that you can never exercise too little control over a project. In the early days of River Ranch, we sold lots. We had design codes and people had to go through our design process, but when you develop in that fashion, you open the process to an awful lot of debate over whether their design, which in their minds is absolutely incredible, number one meets the codes and number two is great architectural design. I spent an inordinate amount of my time on design review battles.

Are there a lot of fakers out there?

Landry: The challenge in this area is what I refer to as pretenders. Traditional neighborhood developments have now become a brand. People are out there saying, ‘I’m doing a TND,’ and when you hear that, your initial reaction is positive. What people like us are doing and others is we’re trying to make sure when people propose their projects as traditional neighborhood projects, they’re adhering to the standards ⎯ and the standards are pretty high ⎯ that they have to earn the ability to refer to their project as a smart-growth project or TND. On the other side of the issue, lots of folks, and it’s really more of an education issue, they haven’t been exposed yet to quality neighborhood developments. When they see or hear TNDs they think of one word: Density. More people with less space. The reality is through proper planning, you actually have less impact of more people in a smaller area.

What’s toughest about getting TNDs off the ground?

Oubre: One of things River Ranch has done for the state, since now we’re working in different cities across the state, it brings an immediate understanding of what can be done. It disarms every government entity along the process. Typically when we go into a community, the brick walls are fire departments, the school system and zoning and planning. When they come here (to River Ranch), they love it. Obviously this is the kind of place everyone loves when they see it, but they don’t understand it yet and the tongue-in-cheek joke we like to tell is, ‘Well if you like it, we’re glad, but it’s illegal to build.’ It kind of pulls the rug out from under them and they say, ‘Why?’

What’s the appeal?

Landry: What’s happening here is instead of buying homes, people are really buying a lifestyle. They’re buying the ability to walk and for their kids to ride bikes and the spa to be right down the street, and instead of having the mailman drop mail in some ugly little box out front, they walk to the market and get their mail there. It’s really more of a culture that’s being created. People also want to be controlled; they want to know that the right thing is not only going to be built, but maintained. Or rebuilt in the future.

Do the three of you ever have creative differences?

Oubre: One of the uniquenesses that Robert brings to the table is the ability to be very pragmatic but also be very sensitive to design, which is critical for our relationship to work. Sometimes I have to argue it and win and sometimes I have to argue it and lose and that’s a good thing. And we have to do that all the time. I win way more than I lose!

Daigle: I think what’s cool about our relationship is that we’re all learning about what the other does but none of us has ever ventured into a feeling or belief or arrogance that we can do the other guy’s job as well as he can.

From what we understand, Juban Crossing, a planned TND in Livingston Parish, may be on hold. Isn’t it possible TND developments will slow just like the rest of the housing market?

Oubre: A 2000 national poll on traditional suburban developments versus TNDs determined that 30% of every market will buy into a TND before buy into conventional suburban development. Today and in the south, that number is more like 45%. So when you look at any market along the 10/12 corridor, the bulk of housing that’s built in this market, it’s all conventional suburban product. TNDs are a limited product, but if 45% of people who buy houses want it, TNDs will do better. Louisiana is not gaining population. They’re migrating from villages they really like and they want to move to villages that they’re accustomed to living in, so the TND in many ways addresses that migration pattern, which is what we’re attempting to do.

Daigle: I think what you’re going to see over the next 10 to 20 years is what I call product migration ⎯ migration from conventional suburban product into smart-growth communities. I saw some Brookings Institute demographics data that said if we don’t build another single family detached home for the next 20 years, 20 years from now we will still have more inventory of that product than there is demand for it. So what are we doing? We’re still out there developing. Ninety percent of the projects out there today being developed are conventional suburban product. They’re building the same product we already have an abundance of inventory for. That is going to come crashing down on the development industry over the next five to six years.

What’s the Next Big Thing?

Landry: We’re working on the integration of senior living into traditional neighborhood living. The baby boomers are getting older, and they’re going to want to move out of their conventional homes and into something more hospitable than a nursing home. One of the things Robert is going to do in Sugar Mill Pond is a significant senior living piece where the grandmother has her own residence in the neighborhood where the grandchildren are, and she can walk to the spa or walk around the park and never get into her car or worry about the issue of, ‘Is it safe to get in my car and drive across town to go see my doctor?’ It’s everything old is new.

Where are the TNDs?

New Urbanism is definitely finding a home along the 10/12 corridor. Here’s a sampling of the traditional neighborhood developments opening their doors:

Americana, Zachary

Developers: Shearwater Communities

Put out the welcome mat: May 2008

The Joneses will covet: 44-acre tract to develop a new BREC signature park, also adjacent 36-acre Zachary youth ballpark; negotiating YMCA

The mortgage: High $100,000s to multi-million-dollar homes

River Ranch, Lafayette

Developer: Robert Daigle

Put out the welcome mat: 1998, with four other phases now under development

The Joneses will covet: City Club, 11 neighborhood parks, upscale shopping, Rhythms on the River Concert series

The mortgage: $775 per month for a studio apartment up to $15 million for a home

Olde Towne at Millcreek, Lafayette

Developer: Lamb Development

Put out the welcome mat: 1998

The Joneses will covet: Vintage oak trees, lake with fishing pier

The mortgage: $150,000 to $400,000 plus

Waterside Village, Lake Charles

Developers: Chad Thielen

Put out the welcome mat: 2007

The Joneses will covet: 100 acres of water, including watersport lakes for bass fishing and waterskiing; an equestrian center and trails

The mortgage: Not available

Rouzan, Baton Rouge

Developer: Tommy Spinosa

Put out the welcome mat: 2008

The Joneses will covet: A public library branch, non-denominational church, Montessori school and 23 acres of open space

The mortgage: Not yet available

Riverview, West Baton Rouge Parish

Developers: Rawlston D. Phillips, Jr.

Put out the welcome mat: 2008

The Joneses will covet: View along the river, 50 acres of parks, an open-air farmer’s market, bike paths, location five minutes from downtown Baton Rouge and a fire station

The mortgage: $200,000 to multi-million-dollar homes

Village at Magnolia Square, Central

Developers: James Nunnally, W. Steele Pollard

Put out the welcome mat: 2008

The Joneses will covet: Bed and breakfast, pilates studio

The mortgage: $175,000 to $1 million plus

Sugar Mill Pond, Youngsville

Developer: Robert Daigle

Put out the welcome mat: October 2005

The Joneses will covet: Eight-acre bulk-headed lake surrounded by a two-acre plaza with soaring fountains, its own high school, live/work buildings with first-floor retail space and second-floor apartments and monthly events like crawfish boils

The mortgage: $200,000 to $500,000 and up

TerraBella, Covington

Developer: Randy Meyer

Put out the welcome mat: 2008

The Joneses will covet: A tributary of the Tchefuncte River with connecting creeks, man-made lakes, 200 acres of preserved forest and wetlands

The mortgage: $300,000 to $2 million, including condos

La Vie, Baton Rouge

Developer: R.W. Day Development

Put out the welcome mat: 2010

The Joneses will covet: A film studio, regional lifestyle mall.

The mortgage: Not yet available

Settlement at Willow Grove, Baton Rouge

Developer: Richard Carmouche

Put out the welcome mat: 2007

The Joneses will covet: Scattered parks—including a 14.5 acre site with two ponds, a swimming pool, football field and amphitheater

The mortgage: $275,000 to $1 million plus