About 10 years ago, the late Barry Spitznass introduced Chicago architect Doug Farr to the Twin Cities with a plan to convert an old warehouse to urban apartments.

Farr made a lot of trips to Bloomington, had many dinners at the Lucca Grill, and “met a whole posse” of Spitznass’ friends.

“I felt like I got an insider’s tour of McLean County,” Farr said.

Now with a list of credits that includes being master planner for the downtown Normal renewal plan, working with Illinois State University, the Central Illinois Regional Airport, BroMenn Regional Medical Center and the city of Bloomington, and recently being chosen to create a master plan for the Main Street corridor, Farr has become somewhat of a Twin City insider himself.

“It’s not about me,” Farr said of his success in being selected for Bloomington-Normal projects. “It’s about what human beings want. I represent ideas people prefer.”

Those ideas include diverse, mixed-use neighborhoods with narrower streets, inviting sidewalks and a lot of landscaping, he said. New construction blends in with existing buildings.

After helping Spitznass with several projects – including the conversion of the old warehouse to the Douglas Apartments at 215 Douglas St., Bloomington – Farr was selected as master planner for the downtown Normal renewal plan.

“When we interviewed Doug, he indicated he was somewhat familiar with the area, given his work with Barry,” Normal City Manager Mark Peterson said. “He confided after being selected that he ordinarily wouldn’t pursue a project like this, but he found it to be interesting.

“We got lucky,” Peterson said. “The plan Doug helped us create is still intact after six years. All indications are after it is completed, it will be by and large the plan Doug created. That’s unusual.”

Farr said the Normal plan was the “perfect project to do.”

“It had some charming aspects,” Farr said. “The RFP (request for proposals) said the council ‘wants to do something downtown.’ It was really open-ended. I loved that.”

Peterson said the plan has attracted many private developers to downtown.

“Private developers have come in and said, ‘That’s a great plan,’ ” he said. “That’s one of the reasons they were attracted to the project.”

Normal consulted with Farr again when it wanted guidelines for new development in the neighborhood just south of downtown that includes Broadway, a former haven for unattractive student apartment buildings.

Farr helped the town create form-based coding to guide new construction, including the recent development of several “big house” apartment buildings, so it blends in with the existing grand old homes nearby.

“Form-based coding” acts as a zoning overlay and requires developers to include certain characteristics – such as porches, backyards, rear or underground parking and specific roof lines – on buildings in the neighborhood.

Recently, Bloomington hired Farr to create similar guidelines for the Gridley-Allin-Prickett neighborhood.

Bloomington City Planner Ken Emmons said it was Farr’s work with Spitznass and his extensive development of form-based coding in Chicago and the Normal neighborhood that prompted the city to contact him for the project.

“It will allow preservation of the urban form in the neighborhood,” Emmons said. “New buildings won’t be totally out of scale.”

The yearlong project includes a lot of input from residents – something Farr has incorporated in all of his public projects in the Twin Cities and plans to do with the upcoming Main Street corridor project as well. Farr has been hired to create a plan that guides future development along Main Street from north Normal to south Bloomington.

“Meeting with the citizenry is crucial,” Farr said. “We want to do what’s right for McLean County. Public meetings are an opportunity to dialogue about issues that come up rarely in public debate. People can bring their opinions.”

Paul Harmon, chairman of the Bloomington-Normal Airport Authority and former chairman of Normal’s Downtown Advisory Commission, worked with Farr on the airport project and the downtown Normal project.

“He has the ability to take us a step beyond where we would have gone,” Harmon said. “He has a vision to enhance our community.”

Doug Farr

Occupation: Founder of Farr Associates, Chicago.

Education: Architecture graduate of the University of Michigan and Columbia University.

Accomplishments: On the board of Congress for the New Urbanism; chairman of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Neighborhood Development project; featured speaker on a six-part PBS series on sustainability and “green” buildings.

Expertise: Applying LEED principles to neighborhoods and designing green buildings exclusively for urban contexts and creating form-based coding. Farr Associates is the only firm in the world to have designed two LEED platinum-rated buildings: the Chicago Center for Green Technology and the Center for Neighborhood Technology.

SOURCE: Farr Associates

Tags: Barry Spitznass Bloomington Bloomington-Normal Airport Authority BroMenn Regional Medical Center Center for Neighborhood Technology Central Illinois Regional Airport Chicago Chicago Center for Green Technology Columbia Columbia University Incoming Search Terms: Barry spitznass Barry Spitznass Recent Searches: Antony Vereb Antony Vereb Tom Skyring Tom Skyring Animal Services Advisory Board