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Successful downtowns have places to play, places to sit and places to grow, Page said. He showed examples of an urban farm in downtown Detroit and an alley in Philadelphia revamped into a plaza. Interface Studio is working with Downtown Fort Worth Inc. on its Plan 2033, a road map to guide development for the next decade. The firm also is working with the city on a similar plan for the Las Vegas Trail area. The firm is surveying residents and downtown stakeholders about what they want to see downtown. Interface will use those results to try to find what Page called “threads of connection,” where people agree on what they want for the city’s urban core. If you do the engagement well and reach out to a lot of people, Page said, by the time the draft comes out, people will agree on about 90% of it, Page said.
Read ArticleWe are excited to announce the release of a neighborhood plan for the Hunting Park - East Tioga community of Philadelphia, completed by Interface Studio and Lamar Wilson Associates for North10 Philadelphia with a grant from the H. Chase Lenfest Foundation. Working with the HP-ET community over the past year has been energizing and inspiring...
Read ArticleMontgomery residents were invited to attend the “Defining Downtown Open House” to weigh in on future developments in the capital city. The open house event is part of the research to complete the city’s downtown action plan. The action plan is an opportunity to build on achievements made downtown by defining the next strategy for growth and investments. City leaders say the 2007 Downtown Montgomery Master Plan provided the foundation for the plan, which will focus on enabling the community to continue this vision forward through strategic projects, policies, and programs.
Read ArticleWe are excited to see the City of Richardson making strides toward implementing their vision for reinvestment and redevelopment of key areas of the city including the Collins-Arapaho district that was the focus of our 2018 TOD and Innovation District Study. The city has announced the creation of the Office of Innovation & Placemaking Initiatives, which will manage six priority reinvestment and redevelopment areas. The new office will also oversee operations and programming for the Richardson Innovation Quarter Headquarters (IQ HQ) which is slated to open in 2022.
Read ArticleCongratulations to the people of Macon, Georgia, and the 23 winning projects of Downtown Challenge Grants! Each project will push forward the goals of the Macon Action Plan and help implement our recommendations. Some of the winning projects include: a mural by the Macon-Bibb Transit Authority; bike racks, bus stop seating, and lighting from Bike Walk Macon; and roving pop up wildlife events from the Museum of Arts and Sciences. Can't wait to see these awesome programs take shape!
Read Article“For the last 20 years, downtown Harrisonburg has seen a tremendous amount of growth and redevelopment,” says Brian Shull, Harrisonburg’s director of economic development. We are excited to get started working on a long-term visioning process that aims to engage residents, visitors and business owners to identify priorities that should guide downtown’s development over the next two decades!
Read ArticleWe received the FANTASTIC news today that U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded a $30 million Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grant to fund the Growing Our Tree Streets Choice Neighborhood Transformation Plan in Downtown Lewiston. We couldn’t be more excited for the Tree Streets community, the City of Lewiston, Healthy Neighborhoods and all the project partners. Congrats to everyone involved!!
Read ArticleCongratulations to Richardson, Texas and The University of Texas at Dallas on partnering to create The IQ @ 1302! Based on recommendations from the visioning study we led in 2018, The IQ @ 1302 will feature co-working, research, and lab spaces in addition to the UT Dallas Venture Development Center, which serves as a business incubator for the UT Dallas community. There is also space dedicated to programs, networking, and other events to create a forum for entrepreneurs to connect with one another. Excited to see this come to fruition!
Read ArticleInterface Studio would like to recognize and celebrate the adaptability and innovation we found in our team, our partners, our clients, and the communities we had the opportunity to work in in 2020. From distancing our community engagement, to crafting COVID-19 economic recovery strategies, to learning how to collaborate from afar, the last year pushed us to experiment and expand our existing skills. Click to read the full blog post.
Read ArticleWe are so excited to share that the Macon Action Plan Refresh is here! The first MAP, released in 2017, had 92% of its recommendations implemented before its five-year horizon, which led us to work with the Macon community again to update the plan to make even more progress Downtown Macon, Georgia. The high rate of implementation comes from a combination of realistic, actionable goals, and the opportunity for anyone interested to apply to the Community Foundation of Central Georgia for a grant to make their idea a reality.
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