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Office Employment Area

Office/Employment Areas are larger concentrations (more than a few buildings) of office employment that may be oriented along a single corridor or may occur within an office park or campus-style setting. Such areas are characterized by significant amounts of parking – either in large surface lots or in parking structures, are generally dense enough that most buildings would be two or more stories. Other uses may be embedded in this place type, including a small number of residential buildings or some ground floor retail. However, if such other uses represent more than about 20% of the square footage, the area may fit better in the Mixed Use District place type described above.

Michigan Avenue
Credit: CH2M HILL
Office area in Redmond
Credit: CAI

Design considerations can be divided into three major categories: 

  • Multimodal Corridor Planning deals with the design of the transportation network and its performance.
  • Site Planning involves site- and building-specific issues such as density, urban scale, and floor area ratio.
  • The Choices & Guidelines section encompasses numerous design matters including parking, setbacks, lighting, and drainage, among others.

For more information about design and the relationship between the public roadway and private property see the Design Tutorial.

Process considerations deal with the steps and procedures involved in the planning process. This manual addresses nine specific process areas.