The Art of Creating a Community in the Heart of a City: A Q&A with an Urban Developer

Roadside Development is building a new urban village for City Ridge in Washington, DC with over 690 residential units and 315,000 feet of retail and commercial spaces. Watch the video to see why Roadside chose Bosch home appliances to differentiate themselves from the rest of the marketplace!

How can residential design be used to help create a sense of community in the heart of a city? Today’s most innovative urban residential developers are asking that very question and reimagining what life in a city can look like. They are creating all-encompassing spaces that not only serve as a place to sleep and eat but expand into a community where residents can fully live out their lives, build connections with their neighbors, develop new skills and grow, all within walking distance of their homes. The most state-of-the-art residential developments like City Ridge in Washington, D.C. are designed to do just that.

City Ridge is a new mixed-used residential development in northwest Washington, D.C., situated on bustling Wisconsin Avenue and adjacent to the 200-acre Glover Archbold Park, the second largest park in our nation’s capital. City Ridge provides an elevated residential experience likened to an “urban village”, including an enriching community calendar, great food, a wide range of fitness options, the first Wegmans supermarket in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, and a curated environment designed to cater to the residents’ daily needs. To add to the elevated and luxury experience, City Ridge also offers Bosch home appliances in their apartments.

We had the opportunity to sit down with Richard Lake, Managing Partner of Roadside Development, the real estate firm behind City Ridge, to discuss the inspiration behind their latest property, and in the process, glean some insights about the art of building a community in the midst of bustling urban life.

Thanks so much for sitting down with us today. Can you tell us a little bit about the origins of Roadside Development?

Richard Lake: At Roadside Development, we like to bridge the gap between residential and retail developers. We began in the retail leasing business, and expanded into residential, breathing new life into locations that were otherwise unused.

Since we have a retail background, we understand the psychology of consumers, and what people truly need, and we translate that understanding to our residences. Our vision of a space doesn’t just stop at the basics – all common lobbies, corridors, and all the units have a truly elevated sense of space.

Our homes are not just a place to put your stuff – our homes are a place to continue to better your life and to fully integrate into being a part of a rich, vibrant community. That is the focus of the City Ridge model.

Can you expand on the inspiration for City Ridge specifically?

Richard Lake: We wanted to create a development that was designed with a timeless sense of warmth, providing a heightened quality of life that our residents can explore daily. Every aspect of City Ridge was built around that central theme of providing an elevated daily experience to our residents. The decision to include Bosch appliances was based on Bosch’s reputation for appliances that embody that same high-quality and timeless experience that we strive to achieve in our developments.

As far as the interior residential units, City Ridge’s kitchens are beautiful and elegant in every detail. Our kitchens feature large, oversized islands where we keep our Bosch built-in microwaves, so they are not hanging over the stovetop and fit more sleekly into the overall space design. The entire space is purposefully framed by the pantries, built from the finest materials, to incorporate intentional storage space that is designed to complement the flow of the kitchen.

We equipped our kitchens with Bosch French door refrigerators and Bosch to better maximize the space with energy efficient appliances, something Bosch is known for, as sustainability is top of mind for the residents who are moving into City Ridge. City Ridge was the first development in the DC area, and one of only a handful of developments nationwide, to receive LEED v4 Neighborhood Development Gold certification, an assessment developed by the U.S. Green Building Council that measures the sustainable features of neighborhood development projects. We chose to install Bosch’s energy efficient appliances, as it provides our residents with the ability to save money, while protecting the environment and the natural space that we took such great care to curate around the development.

Every element of the space is elevated – from quartz countertops to Italian cabinetry and Bosch appliances. We take pride in designing every aspect of our community developments to meet our residents’ needs and expectations as well as the high standards of our seasoned team of developers.

Can you talk more about the incredible outdoor spaces that City Ridge offers?

Richard Lake: Connecting our outdoor space to our indoor residential units was very important to us. Each of our units have extended outdoor living spaces that are purposefully designed to give our residents the opportunity to experience and enjoy the natural spaces around them.

For this reason, we decided to start the project by bringing in our landscape architect first to build around his outdoor design and use the natural space to inspire the design of our buildings. The front lawn of City Ridge is actually the trailhead to Glover Archbold Park, a 200-acre national park in Washington D.C., which speaks to the central role of outdoor space in City Ridge’s design.

We pulled inspiration from many different places hoping to incorporate elements you do not typically find in the District. For example, when you walk along City Ridge’s streets, it feels like your typical neighborhood has been transformed into a European street grid. It is bustling with life with families coming out of the daycare, vibrant restaurants, and beautiful shops creating the feeling that you have entered something very special.

What would you say makes City Ridge most unique?

Richard Lake: With City Ridge, we incorporated many distinctive spaces for our residents to create community and enjoy themselves, such as Anna’s Greenhouse. Named after my mother, Anna’s Greenhouse is a beautiful rooftop greenhouse and garden for planting, that also doubles as a venue for dinner parties. In addition, City Ridge includes areas for making pizza outdoors, spaces specifically designed for children, a makerspace where people can paint and create, fitness studios, a game room…and when all of these elements come together, it creates an environment that you won’t find in a typical apartment building.

Unlike many large apartment complexes that have cookie-cutter buildings, at City Ridge, no two buildings are alike. Each building features different finishes, unique outdoor spaces and other elements that create a more organic, individual experience.

Our typical resident is the elevated consumer who is interested in growing and learning. With City Ridge, we wanted to create a place that caters to that growth mindset, something that our residents had never been able to be a part of before. A welcoming, vibrant community.

It sounds like you were able to embed a rich sense of community into City Ridge in the midst of urban life. Thank you Richard for sitting down with us today and sharing a little bit about the design and inspiration behind City Ridge!