WASHINGTON, D.C. – May 5, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — The Kannapolis City Council met today to begin the Downtown Revitalization planning process. Members of City Council met with the Development Financial Initiative (DFI) who outlined the process which will be used over the next year. DFI is a group of development professionals who are affiliated with the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Government to aid local governments who are working to revitalize their cities.
The strategic planning process will have six key components:
- Establishing goals for the Revitalization of Downtown
- Market Analysis – identifying types of uses for the downtown properties; amount of retail, residential, office space that new markets can support; what properties should be redeveloped first; study other cities which have revitalized their downtowns; analyze “game changers.”
- Site Analysis – condition of infrastructure, parking needs, traffic flow, green space, public amenities, height/size of buildings desired
- Public Process – the public will have the opportunity to weigh in on the results of the market and site analysis and offer their thoughts on the revitalization effort.
- Financial Analysis – what investment will developers/private partners bring to the table to participate in the new downtown; what uses will bring the most value and sustainability to the City overall and to the downtown core; and define the financial role of the City and other public and quasi-public entities.
- Demonstration Project – identify a project which could be done first to maximize the excitement of revitalizing downtown and jump start other development projects.
These key components will be completed between June 2015 and March 2016. The expectation is the demonstration project would be determined early in this timeframe.
The meeting also included a discussion on how to manage the properties and current tenants. The City will hire a property manager who will be on board when the City assumes ownership later this summer. The property manager will collaborate with current tenants of the space to ensure day to day property needs are met. DFI will also coordinate with current and new businesses and developers who may be interested in participating in the downtown revitalization plan.
