FIRENZE LOFTS LAURELES MEDELLIN ANTIOQUIA COLOMBIA

PERFECT BOUTIQUE HOTEL WITH FULL KITCHEN NEAR TRANSIT

My suggestions on things to do while staying at Firenze Lofts:

Take a waterfall tour of nearby Barbosa.

Ride a bus from Terminal Norte to the upscale colonial town of Retiro -- then catch a ride to Tequendamita waterfall.

Walk to all the restaurants and dessert shops of Premier Parque Laureles and Segundo Parque Laureles.

Go to the historic center for the world class Museo Antioquia traditional art museum.

Check out Botero Plaza outside it.

Walk among the thousands of street vendors and mom and pop clothing shops.

Catch live music at El Club Del Jazz -- Colombia's only jazz club.

Take a rideshare home, as the emerging area is sketchy after dark.

Eat bandeja paisa at Hacienda Junin downtown.

Support homeless cats with a gourmet pizza at Gatelier near the Floresta Metro Train station.

FIRENZE LOFTS LAURELES MEDELLIN ANTIOQUIA COLOMBIA

PERFECT BOUTIQUE HOTEL WITH FULL KITCHEN NEAR TRANSIT

Firenze Lofts’ free breakfast is at a property a block away.

As it is served 7:30 a.m.-10 a.m., I was unable to take my meal there due to travel plans at dawn.

I contacted the property through WhatsApp, and it had a breakfast meal tucked into my room’s full-sized fridge the night before.

When I rose well before 6 a.m., I could re-heat it on the stove or in the microwave, along with the juice from the restaurant and coffee in the room.

The staff speaks limited English (I speak pretty good Spanish) so the WhatsApp was a perfect communications means, because staff could feed my requests and questions into a translate app.

All of my requests, including no maid service, were honored.

I walked to a half dozen excellent restaurants in the wonderful and safe Laureles neighborhood.

FIRENZE LOFTS LAURELES MEDELLIN ANTIOQUIA COLOMBIA

PERFECT BOUTIQUE HOTEL WITH FULL KITCHEN NEAR TRANSIT

Firenze Lofts is in Laureles -- an upper middle class area that is super flat and walkable -- compared to other areas of hilly Medellin.

They always try to steer anglos to Poblado.

I think this location is 10 times nicer and more authentic.

I loved walking less than 15 minutes to the inexpensive elevated Metro train.

One electronic card can be used for the trains, trams, gondola cars to the upper hills and endless city buses.

Firenze Lofts is in a green, leafy area next to a small waterway.

The staff is amazing at this hotel.

I asked quite a few questions before I arrived – including my standard request of getting a room farthest from the elevator (because people are noisy coming off of them, even at upscale properties) and it was honored.

FIRENZE LOFTS LAURELES MEDELLIN ANTIOQUIA COLOMBIA

PERFECT BOUTIQUE HOTEL WITH FULL KITCHEN NEAR TRANSIT

Firenze Lofts’ only small drawback is the unit available when I booked comes with two twin beds -- and they cannot bring in a full-sized bed.

As I travel solo, I am used to a king or queen bed -- not a pair of twins. A twin bed is somewhat small for a grown-up.

But the property more than made up for it with a well-equipped room with tons of outlets, lighting options and a powerful AC unit.

FIRENZE LOFTS LAURELES MEDELLIN ANTIOQUIA COLOMBIA

PERFECT BOUTIQUE HOTEL WITH FULL KITCHEN NEAR TRANSIT

The Firenze Lofts kitchen is bigger and more modern than what I have in my full-sized house.

Same goes for the bathroom -- clean, modern, spacious with plenty of hot water in the big shower.

The elevator works fine and I never heard any noise from guests.

The unit comes with a large, private balcony.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FIRENZE LOFTS LAURELES MEDELLIN ANTIOQUIA COLOMBIA

PERFECT BOUTIQUE HOTEL WITH FULL KITCHEN NEAR TRANSIT

Firenze Lofts is exactly what I want in a property -- small enough to get personal service, but large enough to a super professional staff.

It is one of the greatest price points for quality returned -- that I have ever experienced.

The units are the size of a studio apartment.

The staff is on duty 24 hours and each team member works hard to ensure that you have a tranquil and comfortable stay.

THE 15-MINUTE CITY

OLD-FASHIONED COMPACT, CONVENIENT, MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT FOR A MODERN, POST PANDEMIC, WALKABLE WORLD

“Milan or New York, for example are already widening sidewalks, pedestrianizing streets and increasing bike lanes,” Cristina Garrido said, noting that Barcelona has converted parking lots into civic space.

“The pandemic has accelerated a change that had to be done if we wanted our cities to be sustainable in a mid/long term.

From now on, cities will be more people-centered, and they will have more public spaces allocated for people.”

THE 15-MINUTE CITY

OLD-FASHIONED COMPACT, CONVENIENT, MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT FOR A MODERN, POST PANDEMIC, WALKABLE WORLD 

Cristina Garrido -- Director of Innovation for CitiesToBe, an urban platform powered by Barcelona-based Smart Cities Consultant anteverti –

 said cites around the world are embracing the 15-minute concept, especially as a reaction to the pandemic.

THE 15-MINUTE CITY

OLD-FASHIONED COMPACT, CONVENIENT, MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT FOR A MODERN, POST PANDEMIC, WALKABLE WORLD

“The current gold standard for this with small-scale development is Portland, Oregon, which passed its residential infill program (RIP) last fall,” said Strong Towns Senior Editor Daniel Herriges.

An analysis conducted by the city in consultation with several small-scale and affordable housing developers, including Neil Heller and Habitat for Humanity,

found that significant affordability benefits would be achieved by the policy the city ended up passing, which provides a sliding scale of allowed FAR for buildings between four and six units -- if they provide rent-reduced affordable units.”

THE 15-MINUTE CITY

OLD-FASHIONED COMPACT, CONVENIENT, MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT FOR A MODERN, POST PANDEMIC, WALKABLE WORLD

Strong Towns is a nonprofit focused on strengthening the urban core while eliminating budget-busting sprawl development.

 “A trend I expect will grow among cities changing their zoning to allow more missing middle and walkable urban infill development -- the kind conducive to a 15-minute neighborhood –

is that of building density or floor area ratio (FAR) bonuses into the zoning code specifically for affordable units,” Senior Editor Daniel Herriges said.

THE 15-MINUTE CITY

OLD-FASHIONED COMPACT, CONVENIENT, MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT FOR A MODERN, POST PANDEMIC, WALKABLE WORLD

Strong Towns Senior Editor Daniel Herriges emphasizes that the 15-minute neighborhood saves cities the high cost of maintaining sprawl.

“It's important to remember that the cost premium for compact, mixed-use neighborhoods is largely a function of artificial scarcity, he said.

“Fifteen-minute neighborhoods, and the kinds of housing that work well in them, are not expensive to create or maintain.

They often have high real-estate values only because they are very popular and we haven't built enough of them in the last few decades.

THE 15-MINUTE CITY

OLD-FASHIONED COMPACT, CONVENIENT, MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT FOR A MODERN, POST PANDEMIC, WALKABLE WORLD

We also regularly partner with community organizations on local hiring and public art installations,” David Lombino said.

“We take accessibility very seriously at Two Trees -- all of our buildings are ADA compliant and the vision behind the construction of Domino Park was to create an inclusive, accessible open space for all.”

THE 15-MINUTE CITY

OLD-FASHIONED COMPACT, CONVENIENT, MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT FOR A MODERN, POST PANDEMIC, WALKABLE WORLD

 

David Lombino said Two Trees’ philosophy of diverse community building includes supporting local businesses, artists and community groups.

“We make a concerted effort to curate small businesses that suit neighborhood needs and make an intentional decision to not rent to chains that can pay top dollar.

THE 15-MINUTE CITY

OLD-FASHIONED COMPACT, CONVENIENT, MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT FOR A MODERN, POST PANDEMIC, WALKABLE WORLD

“Two Trees has generated approximately 400 high-quality affordable housing units in Brooklyn and Manhattan.

We have an additional 500 affordable units in the pipeline at our Domino Sugar Factory redevelopment site, and another 260 proposed units at River Ring, a new project,” David Lombino, Principal at Two Trees, said –

noting that low-income units are identical to market-rate apartments, have access to all amenities and do not have separate entrances (a controversial feature in other developers’ projects.)

THE 15-MINUTE CITY

OLD-FASHIONED COMPACT, CONVENIENT, MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT FOR A MODERN, POST PANDEMIC, WALKABLE WORLD

“More recently, Domino Park has served as a critical place for New Yorkers throughout the pandemic with painted circles that encourage social distancing on the lawn, which received international recognition and became a replicable model for parks around the world,” David Lombino, Principal at Two Trees, added.

Two Trees -- which has developed a portfolio worth more than $4 billion, including more than 2,000 apartments – agrees that the 15-minute neighborhood must include affordable housing. 

THE 15-MINUTE CITY

OLD-FASHIONED COMPACT, CONVENIENT, MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT FOR A MODERN, POST PANDEMIC, WALKABLE WORLD

Founded in 1968, Two Trees is best-known for transforming an aging waterfront warehouse district into the DUMBO arts and tech hub in Brooklyn.

“Domino Park along the Brooklyn waterfront in Williamsburg, which Two Trees financed, constructed and operates, embodies this type of approach. 

In designing the six-acre waterfront park, we held dozens of community-based meetings and feedback sessions so we could understand what the local community wanted in a new public space,” Lombino said.

THE 15-MINUTE CITY

OLD-FASHIONED COMPACT, CONVENIENT, MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT FOR A MODERN, POST PANDEMIC, WALKABLE WORLD

To create a truly authentic place, you have to involve the community to gather input on what they need and want for the health and longevity of their neighborhood,” said David Lombino, Principal at Two Trees.

“We’ve worked to keep the human experience at the forefront of our work, always thinking about the social power of the built environment.”

THE 15-MINUTE CITY

OLD-FASHIONED COMPACT, CONVENIENT, MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT FOR A MODERN, POST PANDEMIC, WALKABLE WORLD 

From a developer’s standpoint, the 15-minute city makes sense to Two Trees, a Brooklyn-based, family-owned real estate development firm.

“The secret of placemaking is understanding what the local community values and how we can help infuse those values into the neighborhood and be real partners to our neighbors,” said David Lombino, Principal at Two Trees.

THE 15-MINUTE CITY

OLD-FASHIONED COMPACT, CONVENIENT, MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT FOR A MODERN, POST PANDEMIC, WALKABLE WORLD

REALTORS in Louisiana are working with key stakeholders to support complete streets and access for all.

Morris said revitalization replaces blight and allows stores to stay open later – improving business revenue – because people feel safe on the street.

The statewide association also received NAR grant support to create a tool kit for building better, especially in coastal areas to adapt to climate change.

THE 15-MINUTE CITY

OLD-FASHIONED COMPACT, CONVENIENT, MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT FOR A MODERN, POST PANDEMIC, WALKABLE WORLD

“People want to walk to stores, shops and services,” Norman Morris, CEO of Louisiana REALTORS, said of the value of the 20-minute neighborhood.

“We target an area that needs some revitalization and improve a 4- to 6-block area. 

We clean up, paint, fix up storefronts – we create an atmosphere, an environment where (walking) can be done.

It creates synergy, it enhances value of the corridor and the nearby residential.”