The City of Harrisonburg, Virginia and the Urban Land Institute Virginia District are partnering on a Technical Assistance Panel (“TAP”) evaluation of city-owned property in Harrisonburg’s downtown.
The TAP will evaluate a proposal for an urban park, providing recommendations for the redevelopment of a City-owned parking deck on Water Street, review proposed alignments for the Northend Greenway/Federal Street alley/Bluestone Trail, and offer guidance for the development of a Downtown Master Plan.
The TAP will take place September 5 – 6, 2018 and conclude with a public presentation scheduled for September 6, 2018 at 5:30pm in City Council Chambers at City Hall, 409 South Main Street, Harrisonburg, Virginia 22801.
The City of Harrisonburg is the official sponsor of this ULI Virginia TAP and has requested the panelists review and provide recommendations for a specific study area of downtown Harrisonburg. Specifically, the study area boundaries will be East Market Street to the north, Martin Luther King, Jr. Way to the south, Liberty Street to the west, and S. Mason Street to the east.
The TAP will address the following study area questions:
- Analyze the urban park proposal submitted to the City Council of Harrisonburg by Build Our Park and offer recommendations on appropriateness of physical location, impacts on public parking, and other matters;
- Offer recommendations for the redevelopment of the City-owned Water Street parking deck and provide input as to any possible redevelopment economic benefits;
- Review the previously proposed alignments for the Northend Greenway/Federal Street alley path/Bluestone Trail and recommend any preferred alignments for the main trail and potential spurs/branches; and
- Provide insight into how these recommendations can be used for the development of a future comprehensive Master Plan for all downtown Harrisonburg.
At the conclusion of the TAP in September, panelists will provide City of Harrisonburg officials with a final report on their recommendations in October 2018.
[116KB] August 28, 2018 Press Release
The Urban Land Institute’s Technical Assistance Panel presented their findings of a two-day study of downtown Harrisonburg in a public meeting held in Council Chambers on September 6.
[8MB] Downtown Harrisonburg Presentation
Final report that was presented to the City of Harrisonburg: [21MB] ULI Final Report