The Downtown Valdosta Master Plan process is drawing to a close with the third and final public workshop held on Thursday, October 14.  Over 30 downtown stakeholders participated in the event at the historic Dosta Theater. Planners from Urban Collage, Bleakly Advisory Group and Hall Planning & Engineering were on hand to discuss recommendations for cost-effective, near-term actions to advance improvements in parks, streets, sidewalks, and cultural amenities.  The draft plan is the outcome of extensive community input which addressed downtown issues such as housing, traffic, parking, economic development and marketing.  The final plan will be presented to City Council in December.

For coverage from The Valdosta Daily Times, follow this link….

Atlanta leaders this week received news of its $47 million grant from the U.S. DOT for the “East-West Circulator” section of its Downtown Streetcar Project.  A critical segment of this groundbreaking transit effort, the “circulator” fills a critical mobility void for Downtown, connecting the culturally-rich and historic Sweet Auburn neighborhood to the east with the sports and tourism-centered district encircling Centennial Olympic Park to the west.  The segment was outgrowth of the Peachtree Corridor Vision Plan that Urban Collage helped lead in 2006-2007, which tapped the diverse talents of an incredible range of city leaders to create a design concept and financial strategy to transform the 14.5-mile Peachtree Corridor into one of the world’s “premier boulevards”.

To read the article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution click here

Dunwoody, Georgia is conducting a series of public involvement meetings as part of the City’s effort to create a market-driven, community-based Master Plan for the Dunwoody Village and for the Georgetown/North Shallowford Community Area.  Led by Urban Collage, in cooperation with RCLCO, Kimley-Horn & Associates, and Houseal Lavigne the process includes a series of meetings with Sounding Boards of local residents and a series of 8 public meetings (4 for the Dunwoody Village and 4 for the Georgetown Area).  The first set of meetings held in September were attended by a combined total of over 300 local residents and business owners.  The process is being followed closely and reported on by the Dunwoody Crier and Neighbor Newspapers.  A project website has also been established to enable participants in the City of approximately 40,000 residents to participate from their home or office.

With significant support from business leaders and neighborhood residents, a new stand-alone zoning district for the Buckhead Village is being considered for adoption by the City of Atlanta.  Special Public Interest Zoning District 9 was developed by Urban Collage, Inc. in cooperation with Jordan Jones & Goulding with assistance from Troutman Sanders, RCLCo, and Kimley-Horn & Associates.

SPI-9 is the culmination of almost a decade of planning for the Buckhead Village.  The ordinance extends street-level retail and streetscape requirements, includes development standards to ensure quality future development, and incorporates density bonuses and transfer of development rights to provide community amenities and encourage the creation of a walkable, urban village.

The ordinance was recently recommended for approval by Neighborhood Planning Unit-B on a 24-0 unanimous vote and was approved unanimously by the City’s Zoning Review Board on September 9, 2010.  The ordinance will go before Atlanta City Council for adoption in early October.

For coverage from Atlanta Business Chronicle, click here

Kentucky Educational Television has produced a documentary on the history, importance and current efforts of Town Branch Creek, the overlooked waterway on which Lexington was founded.   The Town Branch corridor has become the subject of environmental reclamation, including the McConnell Springs environmental center.  Urban Collage has been involved in current efforts to design the Town Branch Trail along its banks, forming a backbone for the innovative Lexington Distillery District.   The documentary will be aired beginning July 3.

For more information and KET schedule click here