We believe that cities are only as great as the sum of their communities, and therefore we study the effect every part of a building will have on how people interact and spend time together. The practice of designing for enhanced human interaction is carried out in all of our endeavors, from residential to commercial and retail.
In our quest to create better communities, we often find ourselves asking, “Why do most developers just build boxes?” Too much new development in America detracts from community more than it enhances it. Our best answer to why this happens is that the role of the developer has changed.
100 years ago, land was relatively inexpensive and permit offices barely existed. As a result, developers spent more of their development budget on the design and construction of the building.
Today, land and permits are expensive, and the role of ensuring that a project serves its community seems to have shifted to the city. This has left most developers finance-oriented, and the results are apparent.
SolTerra stems from a design and construction background, not finance. We believe that creating community is a long-term investment that we must make. We have spent years developing our philosophies around community-oriented design and invite you to learn more below.
Residential Community
What is the journey a resident takes when they come home? This is the first question we ask ourselves when designing a project. We then look for ways to increase human interaction on this journey, which can include lobbies integrated into retail, open-air common areas that provide visibility to neighbors, and integrated amenities for residents to connect.
We avoid double-loaded corridors that feel like hotels, because we want our tenants to take pride in their home and incorporate something unique outside their unit that is important to them. Showing off what makes our tenants unique is one of our key ingredients for creating vibrant communities.
Retail Community
We don't like most chain retail, primarily because it does not add the uniqueness and authenticity that is so important to us and our communities. We love working with entrepreneurs bringing their lifelong dream to our building. When the owner is the one standing behind the counter, there is an energy that just doesn't exist at the 827th location of a chain.
To help small businesses find a place in our buildings, we design smaller, more unique retail spaces and market them to the local community first. We manage all of our leasing in house and believe this curation of retail is something that makes SolTerra buildings stand out.
We are often involved in the design and construction of the retail spaces, helping them tell a successful story that is consistent with the design and construction of the whole building. This partnership is rare in the retail industry, but we value it because we see retail as one of the greatest amenities we can provide to the communities we create.
Commercial Community
We love commercial and have experience developing office, industrial office, manufacturing, and research and development with wet lab space. We believe commercial space is critical to a vibrant community because we all need jobs — well, at least most of us do.
The SolTerra Building in Portland was our first all-office building, and it was a beautiful experience to create. We realized that most developers prefer to have as few tenants as possible because it is easier to manage. The result is that small businesses are overlooked in the current office marketplace.
We support small business and believe it is the cornerstone of successful communities. Our belief is so strong that we handle all of our office leasing in house. We start with a vision for the community and plant a seed by finding the first few perfect tenants who can help curate the rest of the community. This business ecosystem facilitates collaboration and is an x-factor that benefits everyone in a SolTerra building.