Over the past two months, the final review for the Downtown Development project has gotten underway. Guided by the City’s zoning code for planned developments, this final review process has started with the project team, led by CASTO and Dimit Architects, working collaboratively in joint public meetings with the City’s Planning Commission (PC) and Architectural Board of Review (ABR). These initial joint meetings during July and August have resulted in refinements to the details of the project in response to Board and Commission member recommendations as well as the comments and recommendations of those members of the public in attendance.
The key elements of the Downtown Development project include:
- Provides for/introduces new retail space.
- Provides needed affordable housing units.
- Creates opportunity for a unique, urban community space in the heart of downtown.
- Preserves the designated historic exterior of the Curtis Block Building.
- Adds public structured parking to support the development’s uses and surrounding area.
- Positions the site to serve as a catalyst for additional opportunities in downtown.
On 21 August, the City and Project team hosted a community open house at the Cove Community Center where members of the public had the opportunity to review the project and discuss the site plan and building designs with representatives from the Department of Planning & Development, CASTO, and Dimit Architects. The comments and recommendations from this open house will be considered and integrated into further refinement of the project as it continues review with the upcoming normal September public meetings of the Planning Commission (Sept 5th) and Architectural Board of Review (Sept 12th). The project is anticipated to advance to City Council for their review by mid-to-late October.