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In talking about creating community at Hamilton, Peter Palmisano refers to some of the guiding principles that he has lived by in his years in the development business: he calls them The Three Big E’s, and they stand for Economics, Environment and Expectations.

Looking at bringing a decommissioned airbase back to life as a neighborhood-based mixed use community, the development team had to take a realistic look at the economics of the proposed venture: the clean-up of the materials left behind from the base’s glory years with the Army Air Corps and the knock-down or retrofitting of old buildings on the site is a huge factor in the cost side of the equation YEARS before there is any return in terms of land or homes sales. So the question had to be asked: given the market conditions, given the condition of the site, and given the vision that would be necessary to underwrite to create enough momentum to launch this new community, could it fly?

The issues brought forward by the environment created a natural push-pull: the development team had to look beyond the enormous task of remediation and cleanup to focus on the out-of-the-box thinking so necessary to create a community of restored natural open spaces, walking trails, and even wild birds’ migration paths.

Finally, managing expectations—especially those of the community, who waited so long for Hamilton to open its gates and welcome the locals home. The neighbors were mindful of what a treasure they had in the historic Hamilton; they stayed engaged in the planning and building process to see firsthand just how the new Hamilton would live.