This article is from Camiros Newsletter #27. The full newsletter (6 pages, color) can be downloaded from the following links as a pdf file: Pg.1  Pg.2  Pg.3  Pg.4  Pg.5  Pg.6

Strong Visions Create Strong Downtowns

The popular press seems to have recently rediscovered downtown. Overshadowed by the growth of strip centers, regional malls and big-box retailers, many have considered downtown passé - perhaps a location for offices or government, but no longer the center of town. But times have changed. Older malls and strip centers are now experiencing vacancies, while many downtowns are enjoying a renaissance.

Some say this phenomenon reflects people's dissatisfaction with uninviting strip centers and inconveniences associated with trips to the mall. Indeed, changing demographics, a population with little time for leisure shopping and traffic congestion are causing many to rethink where they live, work, shop and play. Downtowns are again proving themselves viable centers of activity, drawing strength from pedestrian-friendly orientations. The founding place of most communities, and the repository of key institutions and sunken public investments, many towns realize that their downtowns are unique and worthy of effort to secure reinvestment.

Downtowns that have sustained themselves over time, or have experienced successful revitalization, have several things in common:

A clear vision of its role and purpose.

An understanding of its unique niche within the marketplace.

Mixed-use development connected to the community.

High-quality, pedestrian-scaled development.

A strong residential component.

Camiros has helped over fifty communities across the country work to maintain or revitalize their downtowns. Three recent examples illustrate some of the strategies presently being employed.

Michigan City, Indiana

The harbor city of Michigan City grew as a manufacturing and shipping town, and the center of business and government activity for populous northern LaPorte County. Its downtown and manufacturing base were blessed by significant railroad traffic around the southern shore of Lake Michigan. Construction of the interstate highway system prompted a switch from trains to trucks and cars, and the center of activity migrated away from this downtown nestled along the lake to I-94, five miles to the south.

Through the 70s and 80s, the city invested heavily in downtown and made vigorous attempts to reverse a downward spiral. The community installed major streetscape improvements, secured a casino and attracted an outlet mall adjacent to the downtown to complement its fine recreational harbor and beautiful lakefront park. The casino and the outlet mall thrive and the lakefront park and harbor are filled with people during summer months, but downtown stores and shops have not benefited and commercial investment migrated to locations adjacent to the interstate.

Camiros, working closely with the Real Estate Consulting division
of Arthur Andersen, LLP, determined that four factors were retarding the renaissance of this downtown. First, the elements anchoring the greater downtown area were not connected. Second, the community had no coordinated vision for downtown. Third, downtown lacked a design character rich enough to cause people to linger, visit more establishments, and spend more money. Finally, there was the erroneous perception that downtown was unsafe. Camiros' plan directed core strategies at each of these issues.

Camiros Project Designer Richard Wilson says, "The intent is to reclaim vitality in downtown by integrating multiple functions. Strategic urban design connects new attractions to big draw elements located on downtown's periphery, such as the mall, harbor and casino."

Among the new projects proposed are: A "Family Park," featuring kid- and family-friendly entertainment activities.

A waterfront shopping/entertainment complex along Trail Creek, which is the waterway providing safe harbor and boat access to Lake Michigan.

A renovated South Shore commuter railroad station, a beautiful turn-of-the-century structure connecting Michigan City with Chicago.

Revitalization of Franklin Street, Michigan City's "Main Street," featuring a concentration of historically-significant commercial structures.

A "Neighborhoods of Choice" program designed to strengthen the building stock and social fabric of surrounding neighborhoods.

This ambitious revitalization program represents almost $28 million of new investment downtown. Phased over 10 years, this plan identifies funding sources and implementation responsibilities, and provides the outline for a strategic marketing campaign.

Riverside, Illinois

Imagine trying to balance future development with preservation in a community that has been designated a National Historic District. Careful, restrained interventions are required. The challenge of designing such changes, and establishing regulations to govern them, was given to Camiros by Riverside, Illinois, recognized as one of the country's first planned suburban communities - the work of renowned landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted.

Designed in 1869, the plan features curvilinear streets that wrap around a continuous park system, featuring several large parks and over 40 smaller, triangular parks. Riverside contains a small commercial center that was not part of the original design. Over the years, however, commercial businesses developed adjacent to municipal buildings and the railroad connecting Riverside to downtown Chicago. The passage of time institutionalized downtown as part of "Historic Riverside," and it has become a valued part of the community's heritage.

Downtown Riverside today retains a pedestrian scale and turn-of-the-century architecture, but cannot accommodate contemporary parking or retail development - failing to serve the needs of the community. Camiros' assignment was to assist in the preparation of a downtown plan, with associated zoning controls, that ensures new development captures the essence of Olmsted's original design and maintains the character-defining elements of the downtown. The resulting downtown plan and character-based zoning controls will simultaneously protect the pedestrian-scale and architectural character of downtown, while allowing for site assembly and development of more contemporary-sized, mixed-use buildings.

The draft plan, currently being considered, permits the height of new buildings to be consistent with historic limits and seeks to encourage prominent buildings at key intersections. Planning for transit-oriented development - multi-story, mixed-use development with residential above the ground floor - would enable residents to live within close proximity of the commuter rail station, as well as have easy access to goods and services in the downtown. Key visual and activity focal points have been planned to reinforce the functional order of downtown, parking is relegated to the rear of buildings, and zoning controls limit breaks in the streetwall.

Discussing the ability of zoning to protect as well as to facilitate change, Camiros zoning specialist Beth Hibner, AICP, said, "When the design objectives are clear and accepted by stakeholders, character-based zoning can be structured to assure that new development reinforces, rather than alters, design values and community legacy. The experience in Riverside is an excellent example of how to integrate historic design values with current market trends through character-based zoning controls."

Libertyville, Illinois

Successful downtowns do not occur overnight. They are the product of strong visions and consistent follow-through activities. Nowhere is this more apparent than in Libertyville, Illinois. Their 1985 Comprehensive Plan proclaimed downtown as the "Center of the Community." The 1994 Downtown Plan built upon this notion and defined specific areas for the development and maintenance of a pedestrian "Main Street," well-connected to adjacent residential development. As Libertyville undertakes an update to its Comprehensive Plan, downtown is again at the heart of the community’s planning process, as ongoing initiatives integrate residential uses into the immediate downtown fabric and reinforce its unique small town character. Even with over 2 million square feet of retail stores in malls only a few miles south, downtown continues to thrive.

"Many in the community define Libertyville through their image of the downtown," says Camiros Principal Consultant Les Pollock, who has been part of the Village's planning process for the past 18 years.

"Yet they realize that the continued success of downtown as the Village center requires its continued evolution."

Libertyville is a good example of the notion that planning is an ongoing process, since even the most strongly held vision evolves over time. Downtown success may appear as though it happened overnight, but it is always the result of continued long-term and consistent actions, guided by a strong central idea, good design concepts and strong community leadership.