sample Rezoning Strategies Projects
downtown redevelopment and rezoning
Barnstable, Massachusetts
The core downtown and harbor districts of Hyannis were not effec-tively positioned to benefit from the full range of opportunities that the waterfront location on Cape Cod represented. An increase of retail de-velopment outside of the downtown also threatened the economic viability of RKG Associates evaluated the market options and invest-ment opportunities for downtown and then recommended a zoning update to better facilitate and position future growth, including incen-tives for private sector investment. The plan also recommended the establishment of a redevelopment authority to “quarterback” future development; encourage office and workforce housing in the down-town, and to expand cultural and entertainment venues.
neighborhood stabilization
Augusta, Georgia
The Laney Walker/Bethlehem neighborhoods have experienced decades of neglect and decline. In 2008, the Augusta City Council passed a $1 dollar hotel-motel tax and made a 30-year pledge to use these funds to support municipal bond financing to finance future redevelopment projects. RKG Associ-ates, working with APD, Inc., was retained to prepare a residential market analysis to guide future housing development activities within these target neighbor-hoods. RKG also conducted a neighborhood retail market study to determine the population’s ability to support expanded retail and service businesses.
downtown master plan
Lewiston, Maine
This mill city of 35,000 persons is home to Bates College and MBNA, and serves as a regional medical center for south cen-tral Maine. However, the closing of the Bates Mill complex had left the City and the downtown with a large void in its economic engine and tax base. Since the completion of the master plan prepared by RKG Associates, the City of Lewis-ton has hired a Downtown Development Manager to oversee implementation. The former opera house and adjacent prop-erties were acquired and developed into a new Courthouse and downtown pedestrian plaza. New downtown rezoning has been passed by the City Council and planning is under-way to add a 250+ parking structure to the downtown. Sig-nificant new investment has also occurred within vacant buildings for new office usage.
urban corridor revitalization
New Haven, Connecticut
During the 1960s, the State of Connecticut’s Department of Transportation took (by eminent domain) a major swath of land right through the center of downtown New Haven for a proposed Rt. 34 corridor. Since the initial takings, the 26 acres of land have remained fallow, but recently the City of New Haven was able to receive title to the land and has now begun the process of planning for its reuse. RKG Associates, Inc. assembled a team of consultants with expertise in urban design, architecture, civil engineering and traffic engineer-ing, who evaluated the market opportunities for the site, as well as the zoning and the physical constraints of the prop-erty. After an extensive public input process, a reuse plan to revitalize and reconnect neighborhoods was prepared.