Robert B. Kramer AIA, CNU, designed the town plan for Black Creek Village.
Mr. Kramer is the architect and town planner responsible for the planning,
as well as the development of Haile Village Center in Gainesville, Florida.
Haile Village Center is one of the most admired examples of a village
center designed based on the principles of New Urbanism and traditional
neighborhood development.
Haile Village Center is a traditional neighborhood center within the 1700 - acre
development of regional impact known as Haile Plantation in Alachua County. Haile
Plantation is one of the seven exemplary communities cited in Best Development
Practices published by the Joint Center for Environmental and Urban Problems
for the Florida Department of Community Affairs and has been selected as the
winner of the Successful Community Award by the 1000 Friends of Florida based
on neo-traditional design incorporating greenways and a functional village center.
In March of 1996 the Lt. Governor and five cabinet officers involved in growth
management in Florida visited the Haile Village Center and made statements to
the media suggesting that the Haile Village Center represented a model for growth
in Florida based on having "successfully balanced the needs of its residential,
business and environmental communities. "In 1995 the Florida Realtors Association
awarded the Haile Plantation its Envy Award based on the "environmentally
friendly" aspects of the development. The City of Gainesville Beautification
Board recognized Haile Village Center with the Wilbur H. Harling Memorial Award
for outstanding urban planning and exemplary civic design.
Mr. Kramer was chosen to present Haile Village Center at the Congress for the
New Urbanism in Charleston as one of the early successes of this type of planning.
And again, Haile Village Center was selected to be presented by Mr. Kramer at
the First Council of the Congress for the New Urbanism at its Charleston Design
Council where Haile Village Center was considered to be a model and “inspiration
due to its clarity, form, detailing and beauty”. Mr. Kramer has presented
Haile Village Center at The Seaside Institute and the Urban Land Institute at
meetings in San Francisco, New York and Chicago.
Mr. Kramer is a founding member of the Florida Chapter of the CNU and has been
a member since the initial Congress in Alexandria, Virginia in 1993 and is a
member of the American Institute of Architects and a registered Architect in
Florida. He has served as a Director of the National Association of Town Builders
and is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the New England Chapter
of the CNU.
Mr. Kramer has been involved in the design and proposed development of traditional
neighborhoods, village centers and town centers in Florida, Georgia, Kansas,
Nebraska, California, Mexico and Grand Bahama Island.
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