Elizabeth Johnson is less of an anomaly in Houston than she would have been a few years ago. On many Fridays after work, she parks her car in the garage and doesn't touch it again until Monday morning.

The local attorney does her shopping at nearby retailers, including some in her own building, Hanover Rice Village. She can walk to cafes, too. Close by are places like Coppa Osteria, a restaurant that fellow Hanover resident Amanda Russell describes as a communal "living room."

Johnson says she's made a dozen-plus friends since moving in last summer, creating a lively social scene that doesn't require a car to keep up.

"If there wasn't retail on the street level," she says, "we wouldn't have known each other."

As Houstonians' lifestyle habits continue to evolve, more are opting to live in so-called mixed-use projects that combine multistory residential units and retail outlets, typically at street level. Advocates say putting apartment dwellers closer to places to shop, dine and socialize meets a growing desire for walkable living spaces.

Prominent examples include not just Hanover, which opened in late 2012, but also the 5-year-old West Ave, at Kirby and West­heimer; Pearland Town Center, in the fast-growing suburb off Texas 288; and CityCentre, locally one of the more ambitious residential/retail developments, on the west side off Interstate 10 near Beltway 8.

"Big picture: The benefits far outweigh any disadvantages," said Jonathan Brinsden, CEO of Midway, developer of CityCentre and four other mixed-use projects in Houston. "It's about giving the customer what they want - a fantastic lifestyle experience - especially at the younger end of the demographic as well as more and more baby boomers."

Added Ben Pisklak, chief investment officer of Gables, developer of West Ave, "People are moving here from all over the country with a different mindset, and they're used to a more walkable lifestyle."

Plus, Pisklak said, land prices have become so expensive for prime Houston locations that residential-only projects don't make as much sense as they did in the past.

Count Ric Campo, CEO of Camden Property Trust, which builds apartments nationwide, among those less enthusiastic about this construction trend. Camden has 25 apartment projects in Houston - none of them with retail.

Campo said they work best in more densely populated cities, such as New York or Chicago. In Houston, he added, downtown is best suited to such projects because of the George R. Brown Convention Center and related hotels and tourist venues. CityCentre also has enough residential and hotel units for retail, he said.

Serious downsides

Campo, who is also on the boards of multiple economic development and business organizations locally, is even pushing more pedestrian-friendly design that includes retail in the convention district.

But for most of the city, he sees serious downsides for both tenants and developers. For one thing, he said, mixed-use projects cost more to build.

Putting people atop businesses can cause unexpected headaches for residents, Campo said. He cited nightclub noise that could keep its neighbors awake.

He said turnover rates can be higher for apartment units built above a bar or restaurant, an issue Camden deals with in other cities.

For these and other reasons, Campo said he is glad Houston has not gone the route of some other cities in mandating a retail component for residential projects.

Other developers acknowledge the challenges and additional expenses but say the result is worth it.

Pisklak said Gables had to install restaurant exhaust shafts throughout West Ave, something not required in a residential-only project. The company also had to hire noise, odor and garbage experts to help integrate restaurant and apartment operations, Pisklak said. Still, he called the outcome a "net plus."

West Ave, with 200,000 square feet of retail, is about 85 percent leased, Pisklak said. Getting retailers to lease on the second story has been more challenging, he said, but some offices have filled some of the slack.

Striking a balance

The 397 apartments in Phase 1 are 94 percent leased, Pisklak said, and the partially opened Phase 2, which is strictly residential, is 34 percent leased.

Midway's Brinsden said it's possible to strike a balance when putting a mixed-use project together.

"You do have to be very conscious of what kind of retail tenant you bring in, and you have to put them in the right spot," he said. "We have a movie theater at the opposite end from residential at CityCentre."

West Ave resident Jared Lang sometimes hears noise from bars and restaurant, but it doesn't bother him, he said, because it's the price he pays for the convenience of having restaurants and shops an elevator ride away.

"I wouldn't have any issues living in New York City, where they're used to bustle and noise," Lang said.

He has heard noise complaints from other West Ave residents, and he said the amount of noise often depends on whether you live in a unit above retail or facing the street.

Pisklak said there has not been a higher apartment turnover rate at any particular section of West Ave.

West Ave resident Emily Goetz said she has gotten used to the street traffic she can hear from her apartment. She likes knowing there are shoppers and diners there. They are part of what makes her feel safe, she said.

At Hanover Rice Village, the relatively small amount of retail space is fully leased, and residential is more than 85 percent leased, development partner David Ott said.

Hanover resident Soledad Tanner likes the coffee shop/bakery, restaurants and spa in her building. She recalled having friends dropping by once when she had no food in her kitchen, so she told the owner of the street-level coffeehouse Fellini, "Paolo, fix something for me."

That kind of business fits her lifestyle, she said. But, she added, "I wouldn't want a bar or disco open until 2 a.m."

At the end of the day, putting up with a little noise is "a lifestyle choice" made by the person who decides to live in a mixed-use project, Pisklak said.

A better model?

Campo said he believes a better model is putting residential and retail next to each other, as he plans for a future Camden development in Midtown. But he acknowledged that can be problematic, too.

Camden has a residential project with an ocean view in Long Beach, Calif., he said, but next to it is a Dave & Buster's on property owned by another developer, and noise from the entertainment venue has resulted in a high turnover rates for the apartment units closest to it.

Parking is a critical factor with mixed use, because retail customer parking requires considerably more spaces than does residential, said Ed Wulfe, chairman and CEO of Wulfe & Co., a retail development and brokerage firm.

Campo also sees unnecessary costs when retail is mandated by local government.

In California's Hollywood, he said, Camden was required to include retail in a residential development, which made it hard to complete the project. The company originally planned to have a Whole Foods Market on the ground floor, but the various parking and building requirements added $100 million to its original $140 million cost.

The developer later decided to lease to Equinox Fitness, which made the space much less expensive to build, Campo said.

Shon Link, Midway's executive vice president of development, said that while it may cost more to build residential above retail, the cost dynamics are moving toward combining the two, in part because "if you plan to build retail next to your apartments, you would have to buy more land."

Link said the trendline is clear.

"As land prices go up, you are going to see more mixed use," he said.