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<br />MEMORANDUM <br /> <br />/~¿~ <br /> <br />Date: <br />To: <br />From: <br />Cc: <br /> <br />Via: <br />Re: <br /> <br />September 29, 2005 <br />Mr. Tom Passanisi <br />Michael Freedman <br />Mr. Joel Patterson <br />Mr. Bruce Liedstrand <br />Ms. Susan /Voeller <br />Ms. Pat Webb <br />Mr. Dan lack <br />Mr. Mike Church <br />email attachment <br />Downtown Precise Plan - Study Session #4: <br /> <br />Downtown Revitalization Do's and Don'ts. <br /> <br />Dear Tom: <br /> <br />At Precise Plan Study Session #3, Mayor Ira directed us to prepare a response to the question of what are the <br />three most connnon mistakes and three most important contributing factors to success in nationwide downtown <br />revitalization efforts. Our finn continues to review downtown revitalization plans and strategies to learn from <br />the innovations as well as the mistakes of others. To meet the Mayor's challenge, I convened a discussion group <br />of all four Principals of our firm, and we had a fascinating discussion on the topic. This memorandum contains <br />our conclusions. <br /> <br />1.0 <br /> <br />1.1 <br /> <br />The Three Most Common Mistakes <br /> <br />Oversized and Diluted Downtown. Probably the most damaging and connnonly made mistake in <br />downtown planning and revitalization efforts is the tendency of connnunities to envision a downtown <br />that is much too large, with retaiV restaurant the assumed use at ground level. More specifically: <br /> <br />a. <br /> <br />Downtown plans often fail to distinguish between a downtown core and the greater downtown; <br /> <br />b. <br /> <br />Downtown plans that do identify a smaller downtown core area typically size that core much <br />larger than the market can support (and often do not check the depth of that market); <br /> <br />c. <br /> <br />Downtown planners typically miss the opportunity to use policy tools to prevent unnecessary <br />competition to downtown retailers. <br /> <br />d <br /> <br />This mistake is most connnon in cities with historic downtowns blÙlt before the age of the <br />shopping mall and connnercial strip. Historic downtown districts are of a size that was created <br />in an age in which all shopping, entertainment, employment and connnunity services were <br />located downtown. That same blÙlding stock must be re-purposed to fit the structure of demand <br />in contemporary suburban society. <br /> <br />These mistakes result in an extremely diffuse pattern of retail. The downtown is thus left without <br />concentration of activity, variety, density, and people, which is, of course what downtown is all about <br />