‘Hiving’ new community buzzword – Residents tired of ‘cocoons’ seek interaction, connection

Building continues in Village Homes’ Village of Five Parks, a pedestrian-friendly "beehive" community in Arvada. In addition to the titular five parks, residents enjoy a market square filled with shops and a community center offering daily classes and activities ranging from yoga to singles nights.

Homeowners are beginning to emerge from their cocoons.

Lifestyle guru Faith Popcorn coined the term "cocooning" in the 1980s to describe the American need to retreat from the realities of life. Cocooning was considered a way to protect oneself and disconnect from the outside world.

By Chryss Cada
Special to The Denver Post

http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~33~2014737,00.html

Now American homeowners are acting like a whole different type of insect.

"Shortly after 9/11 there was a lot of discussion about a new return to home, about the ‘new cocooning,"’ said J. Walker Smith, president of Yankelovich, a Chapel Hill, N.C.-based marketing consulting group that tracks consumer attitudes. "But this return is actually quite different."

Yankelovich trend-watchers began seeing signs of this new return home in 1998 and coined the term "hiving" in 2001.

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Like a beehive, a hive home represents engagement, interaction and connection with the outside environment. It has larger, open gathering areas. Hive homes are also often on smaller lots, encouraging use of community centers and parks that are an integral part of a hiving community.

"A hive is a home designed to open out and facilitate connection," Smith said. "Across all generations, family is more important than ever, and people see more value in community. Through hiving, home is the best place to re-establish relationships and connect with others."

In a recent Yankelovich survey, 64 percent of the participants identified themselves as "hivers," compared with 33 percent who identified themselves as cocooners. The majority of the respondents said an ideal characteristic for their home is for it to serve as a hub of activity for friends and family.

"After years of hiding away in their homes, people are emerging to become a part of their neighborhoods and greater communities," Smith said.

Colorado home buyers aren’t asking for hives by name, but the qualities they’re looking for describe an interactive home and community, according to area developers.

"We’ve seen a real shift in values in recent years," said Jeff Kingsbury, vice president of sales and marketing for McStain Neighborhoods. "Most people aren’t about getting these huge houses where they lock themselves away, but instead they want a place where they can connect with their families and neighbors."

McStain is integrating the hiving model into its communities at Lowry and Stapleton in Denver, Belmar in Lakewood, and High Plains Village in Loveland.

"This is a strong trend, particularly in urban infill situations," Kingsbury said. "Everything we have on the boards right now has these hiving amenities. People are really looking for mixed-use, walkable neighborhoods."

At an in-town, or infill, housing conference recently sponsored by the Urban Land Institute, hiving was all the buzz.

During a talk on the subject, Greg Currens, chief executive of Style Interior Design in Irvine, Calif., noted that more consumers are seeking housing that is closely connected to the community, including in-town housing that is mixed with, adjacent to, within walking distance of, or connected by transit to recreation, culture, entertainment and work.

"Developments offering a convenient location, strong sense of community, an enriching experience and which have ample amenities have the best chances for success," he said.

Tom Gleason, a spokesman for Stapleton’s master developer Forest City, said when the decision to close and redevelop the old airport was made, surrounding communities were eager to make a seamless transition between the old neighborhoods and the new.

"There was a very strong interest in extending the community feel that was already in existence in the surrounding neighborhoods," he said.

The community feel that a hiving neighborhood embodies is often synonymous with "new urbanism."

"New urbanism means different things to different people, so I don’t like that word," Gleason said. "But people are looking for neighborhoods that have all the elements of new urbanism; a community that is pedestrian-friendly and diverse in use and user."

Gleason argues that new urbanism actually isn’t new.

"It’s a throwback to the houses our parents and grandparents grew up in," he said. "Neighborhoods where you walk down the street and see porches and not garage doors."

In a hiving community those front porches aren’t just decorative.

"What most people who are coming here (Stapleton) are looking for is a sense of community," Gleason said. "We expect and encourage people to get to know their neighbors – and they do."

Since the first homes were built in spring 2001, an intranet has been established at Stapleton, residents of the development have helped select a principal for one of the new schools in the area, and several special interest groups have sprung up. An example of such a group is the "Stapleton Strollers," a group of young, fitness-minded mothers who walk and exercise together.

McStain is having similar results in its neighborhoods.

"As developers it’s our job not only to build great places, but to serve as a catalyst for bringing people together," Kingsbury said. "And it is important that the social structure is sustainable so that it can continue to grow."

In addition to infill developments that extend existing neighborhoods, McStain also has created many hiver-friendly communities from scratch.

In Arvada, Village Homes’ Village of Five Parks has, as the name suggests, five parks. The community also includes a market square filled with shops and a community center where the calendar is booked with daily classes and activities ranging from yoga, feng shui and scrapbooking to singles nights and evening book clubs.

"One of the biggest draws for us is that this neighborhood feels like its own community," said Leanne Candura, who lives with her husband, Jeff, in a condo in High Plains Village in Loveland, one of McStain’s hiver-friendly neighborhoods.

The Canduras have taken advantage of events and classes at the community center and have become close friends with their neighbors.

"It’s nice to be a part of something instead of just being isolated in our house," she said.

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