By Jan Landon
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE
Erickson communities have been giving residents a lifestyle focused on central meeting places, convenience of services, and a small-town feeling for 25 years.
That community feeling has made the move to Tallgrass Creek easy for Bill and Virginia Klasinski. They moved into this Erickson community in Overland Park last December, and they report that they especially like having everything from restaurants to the health center and postal center just a short walk away.
“This is everything they said it would be,” Virginia Klasinski says. “You don’t have to go out.”
When resident Katie Bohannan is asked about plans for the weekend, she pauses for a moment and then responds: “Nothing. We have so much fun here, we never want to go out.”
New Urbanism
Developing communities with that small-town, neighborhood feeling have been classified under New Urbanism, a lifestyle catching on across the country.
New Urbanism is “based on principles of planning and architecture that work together to create humanscale, walkable communities,” according to trade publication New Urban News. It is a movement away from suburban sprawl and back to traditional neighborhoods where services, stores, and social gathering spots are all within walking distance.
Residents of Tallgrass Creek and 17 other Erickson communities live in just that type of setting. The only difference is that Erickson communities are all under one roof. Indoor, climate-controlled walkways lead from all the apartment homes to the amenities in the Audubon Clubhouse.
There are more than 600 communities being planned or under construction using New Urbanism principles, reports New Urban News. Several elements used to define this type of community also describe aspects of Tallgrass Creek:
The neighborhood has a discernible center—a square, a green, a memorable street corner. Tallgrass Creek has the Audubon Clubhouse, where residents come together for parties, club meetings, meals, and social gatherings.