Ministry of Human SettlementsHUMAN SETTLEMENTS REGULATORY

COMMISSIONSH.L.U.R.B. June,1981

PHYSICAL PLANNING STANDARDS

commercial centers

GROUP 10 BS ARCH v-2

• Rowena P. Sulapasrowena_sulapas@yahoo.com

• Zherivie N. Quindozapetit_mini24@yahoo.com

• Arwen V. Capucionarwen_avc@yahoo.com

• Lester S. Marquezlester_marquez_18@yahoo.comlsmarquez01@yahoo.com

COMMERCIAL CENTERS

• Commercial Area (CA) or Commercial Business District (CBD) is the main area, in which economic, social, cultural and administrative services of the town are concentrated. Its essential functions are for the retail of goods and services for profit and the performance of various financial and office functions.

CLASSIFICATION:

MAJOR CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT:Is the shopping area containing the

largest department and variety stores and specialty shop as well as business and professional offices, hotels, theaters, and other entertainment facilities. In its extension area may be found significant shares of wholesaling and industrial activities and transportation terminals. The CBD is the area of greatest concentration of people and vehicles at daytime. The highest Land Value and Tallest buildings.

MINOR CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT:Is the shopping and service area

found in less developed on lower class cities and municipalities with the market (in general) as its main feature complemented by shops and offices as well as recreation and transportation facilities.

Noticeable in its character is the equal residential - commercial or mixed use development in strip pattern and at times amorphous.

The Minor CBD is generally located at the poblacion together with the Municipal Hall which serves as the Town Center.

Intensification and specialization of activities in the minor CBD lead its transformation into a major CBD.

SHOPPING CENTER:Refers to a group of

establishments, planned, developed and managed as a unit to serve specific residential areas or market for retail of goods and services.

This may locate within a CA or CBD in which case its serves as its nucleus, or independent from it. Specialization is found in shopping centers.

COMMERCIAL STRIPS:As miscellaneous collections of

individual stores standing on their individual lot strung along street frontages with or without incidental off-street parking. It serves as finger extension of CA or CBD.

NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER:Is the village or neighborhood

source for staple and convenience goods and services and is built around a super mart or grocery as the principal retail outlet.

SPACE ALLOCATION:

POPULATION SERVED:The major CBD may serve a population range of 100,000 to 250,000, while the Minor CBD may serve about 50,000 to 100,000 people.

SHOPPING TREND:Trend in increasing no. of specialization of shops, the nature of the goods sold is constantly being changed due to change in fashion. New inventions or new methods of manufactures are brought about by the increasing standards of living.

Trend in the size of retail outlets, flexibility in design and advertising are seen to be highly important if the demands of the future are to be met adequately.

FOOD STORE EXPENDITURE:To make an accurate sales

volume projection possible, the amount of money available to food store expenditure potential must be known.

AREA STANDARD

A good rule of thumb is to provide from 1.5% to 3% of the total built-up area for commercial use. The actual land area provided for commercial use will be influenced by any planned vertical expansion.

SITE SELECTION CRITERIAS:

LOCATION:The term “location” indicates the general area in which to select a shopping center site. The merits of location whether the land has already been acquired or is being sought, must always be subjected to careful economic analysis. If the site has already been acquired the economist direct his studies toward the economic characteristics of the location in an effect to decide whether the particular property should be developed as a shopping center project, and if so, what its size and character should be.

TRADE AREA:The term “Trade Area” is normally defined

as “that area from which is obtained the major portion of the continuing patronage necessary for the steady support of the shopping center.The Defining Factors used in delineating a trade area vary from center to center. They include but are not limited to:1. the size and influence of the proposal retail facilities2. Planning and design characteristics3. Travel time to and from the location4. The existence of natural or man-made barriers

Such as railroads and rivers that would limit accessibility either in fact or psychologically.

Thus the trade areas for various locations will not necessarily assume similar sizes or shapes.

POPULATION:Attention must be paid not only to the

existing population but also to prospects for future growth, which may be forecast by reference to the past growth rates., the trend of population shifts, and the availability of the remaining suitable land for residential development.

In forecasting the population trend for ten to 15 years consideration must be given to such factors as:

1. Existing population Density2. Zoning Restrictions 3. Physical or man-made barriers

to the development of new residential areas ( mountains, water ways, industrial areas, public parks, cemeteries, airports), and

4. Other land uses that would forestall residential development.

SITE QUALIFICATIONS:1. The site must be located in the most desirable general area as established by the economic survey.2. The site must be owned or controlled by the developer or offer the possibility of acquisition.3. Land cost must be in keeping with overall economic considerations 4. Existing zoning must permit shopping center development or a reasonable likelihood zoning must exist.

5. The site must contain sufficient land to permit construction of facilities to meet the sales potentials.

6. The land must be in one piece, free of intervening roadways, right-of-way, easements, major waterways or other obstacles that would force developments in separated portions. 7. The topography and shape of the site must permit advantageous planning and reasonably economical construction. 8. The surrounding road pattern and accessibility must allow full utilization of the business potential.

9. The structures must be visible from major thoroughfares.

10. Surrounding land uses should be free of competitive developments, and, if possible, should be of a nature that enhances the operation of shopping center.

SITE REQUIREMENTS:

• STRUCTURES a. FOR RETAIL PURPOSES (Retail Area)b. FOR SERVICE PURPOSES (air-conditioning

plants, electric sub-stations, maintenance shops, truck roads, loading docks, and equipment storage.) c. FOR OTHER COMMERCIAL USES(OFFICES

and recreational facilities, community centers, auditorium, exhibition

space and children’s play area.)

• CAR STORAGE AREA

a. Surface Parking Lotsb. Double- deck or multiple deck garages

• PEDESTRIAN AREASa. Mall, courts, lanes, and plazasb. Covered pedestrian areas, such as arcades and covered malls and courts.

• AUTOMOBILE MOVEMENT AREASDistribution Road System on Site

• PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION AREAS Bus Roads, bus terminals, and taxi stands

• BUFFER AREASLandscaped areas separating car storage areas or service areas from the public road system or areas separating parking from shopping areas.

• RESERVE AREASPortion of site to be held in reserve for the planned growth of shopping center.

ACCESSIBILITY STANDARDS:

• The recommended distances expressed in travel time on foot or public transport are as follows:

1. From Residential Zones to:a. Neighborhood Center – 750 meters on 15

minutes travel time on foot (maximum) b. Minor CBD – 15-30 min. travel time by

public transport. c. Major CBD – 45 min. to 1 Hour travel

time from the farthest area served by the center, by public and private transport.

2. From Recreational Zones to any shopping centers should be a minimum of 05 min. travel time by public transport or 15 min. by foot

3. From Education Centers (schools): A minimum travel of 15 minutes by public transport.

4. From Health Centers (Hospitals): A minimum travel of 10-20 minutes by public transport.

5. Police Stations: 5 min. Travel time

6. From Fire Stations: 3-5 min. travel time

7. From Garbage or Disposal Area:Average of 5 km. Or 15-20 min. travel time of garbage truck

SITE PLANNING PRINCIPLES

1. safeguard surrounding areas against blight;

2. Exposed retail facilities to maximum foot traffic 3. Separate various mechanized traffic types from one another and from foot traffic 4. Create a maximum of comfort and convenience for shoppers and merchants 5. Achieve orderliness, unity and beauty

PLANNING CONSIDERATIONS:

1. Planning for Development in Stages2. Traffic3. Foot Traffic4. Shape of Site5. Size of Site6. Location7. Access8. Topography and Physical Characteristics 9. Utilities10. The Building Pattern11. Parking12. Buffers13. Landscaping

• 1. PLANNING FOR THE DEVELOPMENT IN STAGES*should be considered if the shopping center site is located in an area that has not reached its ultimate population and if a quick acceleration of population growth may be accepted.*the desire of the land owner to make some immediate use of his land even though full utilization will be practically only in future years.

• 2. TRAFFIC*the shopping center is not to be planned to serve traffic, rather traffic is to be planned to serve shopping center.*gather all info about existing roads and traffic carrying capacities of the surrounding road system as well as to establish the additional traffic load generated by the new shopping center*the recommended right of way width for main street that services the center is 30 meters.

• 3. FOOT TRAFFIC

*the best assurance of high sales volume is the exposure of all individual stores in a shopping center to the maximum amount of foot traffic. If shopping centers are to prosper , dense foot traffic must be created .

• 4. SHAPE OF SITE*the site should not be divided by traffic way because the continuity of shopping is interrupted.*A regularly shaped property is best for efficient layout*site depths of perhaps 1000 meters or more, distinguish shopping centers developments from the old standards strip commercial area which were usually zoned 100 meters or less in depth*any awkward, very irregular shape to the property (even though the total site area is sufficient) should be avoided because portions of the site may be unusable, or if used may result in excessive walking distances, poor parking arrangement, or expensive solutions.

• 5. SIZE OF SITE

* the area necessary for the type of center is important. There must be sufficient site area for the initial development indicated by the trade area analysis with room expansion and for buffer strips is needed.

• 6. LOCATION

*from the standpoint location, the shopping center must be unassailable. The site must be located near a well populated residential area of one that is growing so rapidly that it gives promise of soon being able to support the size of shopping center one contemplates to build.

• 7. ACCESS

*Access should be easy and convenient. It should be possible to turn off the highway directly into the site. Easy access means free-flowing traffic to reach the site. Left turns requires specially constructed lanes for turning movement.

• 8. TOPOGRAPHY AND PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

*Topography of the site is another important factor, a steeply sloping site may require excessive filling and cutting for the building and parking areas. Even if the cuts and fill can be balanced, the earth moving operations adds to cost in the site preparation.

• 9. UTILITIES

*availability of utilities at or near the site is a positive factor in a site selection. Long runs to reach utility connections are development cost to be avoided. Off-site development usually can be adjusted with the municipality and customarily with the private utility company.

• 10.THE BUILDING PATTERN*The Strip- a straight line of stores tied together by a canopy over the pedestrian walk extending along the entrance front to the abores.

*The “L”- is basically a strip with one end turned, it is adaptable for site conditions at two important intersecting roads.

*The “U”- is basically a strip with both ends turned in the same direction. -The intent of U is to reduce the length of an otherwise long strip.

*The “Mall”- is essentially a pedestrian way of offering frontage of two facing strips - its has the most generally accepted pattern for the major shopping center and can be applied to the community size center.

*The “Cluster”- is a group of buildings separated by pedestrian malls or courts and generally grouped around a single key tenant.- It is most often found in the major Shopping Center geared to a single department store.

• 11.PARKING Parking arrangement depends on the ff:

1. Site Potential2. Direction of traffic flow to the site,

volume and peak loads3. Entrance and Exit Points4. Circulation within the site-outer

perimeter and along the store frontage for autos, buses, and pedestrian

5. Walking Distance from parking- 100m. Is the recommended max.

6. Balance of load on the parking area according to tenant occupancy needs.

7. Width and Angle of the parking stall; direction of movement through the aisles “ “Ease of parking”

8. Planned Employee’s Parking

• 12. BUFFERS Sometimes the shopping

center site is a trace of land surrounded by an existing built-up area. In such cases, the shopping center has to be fitted into existing street and neighboring development patterns.

13. LAND SCAPING Planting and seasonal floral

displays in appropriate places within the center and greatly to customer appeal.