“599 Somerville Avenue will provide moderate floor plate sizes for growing tough tech companies. The building has been designed to prioritize flexible, day-lit tenant spaces, and an active ground floor that engages pedestrians along Somerville Avenue, as well as one story of underground parking.”
What's in Store for Freeport?
For decades, outlet retail has anchored Maine’s most-visited downtown. Now, its champions say the next iteration needs more than big brands. Read the whole article here
You can't have a vibrant downtown without housing.
Planning Director, Vanessa L. Farr, recorded “Let’s Connect” with Greater Portland Council of Government’s Executive Director, Kristina Egan, Claire Houston, and John Egan re: efforts to add housing to downtown Freeport and the oft challenges of doing so.
Listen to the full podcast here!
Maine Towns Tackle Codes to Address Housing Crunch
The towns of Bethel, Greenwood, and Woodstock are collaborating with Principle Planning to produce case studies of desirable housing development scenarios; test those scenarios against existing building and development ordinances; and recommend strategies to repair codes and reduce barriers to development of quality middle-income housing.
Turning an office park into a town center
The rethinking of a conventional office park, Carmel Gateway is the latest big idea to be proposed in Carmel, Indiana, the city of roundabouts.
Rubenstein [Partners] reached out to Speck & Associates, who teamed up with the Principle Group to reconceptualize the roughly 50-acre study area as a neighborhood that balances office, housing, retail, and recreational uses. (Full disclosure, this article’s author managed the project for Principle). The goal was to supplement the site’s already good vehicular and cycling access with a fully walkable destination that would proclaim to visitors Carmel’s commitment to high-quality urbanism.
Maine town known for retail shops wants to refocus on its residents
Currently, only 335 people live in the downtown area, which often is filled with tourists and shoppers. That’s something Town Council Chair Dan Piltch wants to see change, with plans to add housing for up to 1,500 people, including along Depot Street, which now has a lot of empty buildings and parking lots.
“Two years ago we all looked around and weren’t crazy about what we saw,” Piltch said at an informational meeting on the downtown vision plan on Tuesday morning. “We saw a Main Street that was dependent on retail outlets with a lot of empty storefronts and not a lot of local residents walking up and down the street.”
Freeport Plan would add Neighborhood Appeal to its Downtown
“For the past two years, town officials have been working with Boston urban design firm Principle Group to try to reimagine Freeport’s town center as more of a traditional downtown that meets the needs of residents and the millions of tourists who visit each year. The firm has taken business and resident input for months, and the plan is on track to be finalized in May.
Russell Preston, Principle Group’s founder, said the plan for downtown Freeport is similar to that of the quintessential New England village: It should be the heart of the community and a place for everyone to enjoy.
“I think Freeport is in the process of reinventing itself and understanding that downtown can become a neighborhood again,” he said, adding that the neighborhood would have jobs, industry, corner stores and more.”
Kara Wilbur Transitions to Advisory Team
After 10 years as regional planning director, Kara Wilbur has engaged full time in community-based real estate development. Her projects are focusing on bringing dignified and missing middle housing to Maine’s upper coastal and interior communities. Her work will include retail, industrial, and mixed use projects. These projects span historic rehabilitation to new infill construction. Kara continues to work with Principle, relying on their expertise in urban design, site planning, and architecture for friendly, community based development that integrates seamlessly into Maine towns and cities. From everyone at Principle, we wish Kara the best and look forward to working with her in this new capacity.
Somerville Zoning Ordinance Receives 2020 Charter Award →
We’re proud to announce the Somerville Zoning Ordinance won a 2020 CNU Charter Award. Congratulations to our friends and colleagues at the City of Somerville and Utile. The code was recently adopted in December 2019, leading the way towards a green and walkable city.
Read MoreNeed Some Complete Streets Inspo? Find us @Curbless_Streets
Boston, MA — Principle has teamed up with Street Plans to deliver the holy grail of inspiration for curbless streets from around the globe. Follow us and tag your favorite locations >> @curbless_streets on Instagram. Let us know your experiences on these types of streets! Do you recognize any spots? Do you have any favorite curbless streets from around the world, or in your neighborhood? Let’s discuss!
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@Curbless_Streets
Can You Imagine: Parks Over the Pike in Newton - Boston Globe
Newton, MA — Boston Globe features story about vision to “deck over” the pike in Newton, MA as part of the ongoing Washington Street Vision Plan & Code project.
In Newton, a walk through the park could one day mean a hike over the Massachusetts Turnpike, as city officials consider a proposal to build public parks on decks spanning the highway.
For more information on the Washington Street Vision Plan & Code, see the city’s website: www.newtonma.gov/washingtonstreetvision. To read the Boston Globe article, click the link below.
READ ARTICLE:
Can You Imagine: Parks Over the Pike in Newton | Boston Globe, March 15, 2019
Open Comment Period on First Draft for Newton's Washington Street Vision Plan Underway
Newton, MA — Open comment period for the first draft of the Washington Street Vision Plan in Newton, MA is underway: residents can read and comment directly on the document online and in-person throughout the City. For more information, read about the project at www.newtonma.gov/washingtonstreetvision!
Woonasquatucket Vision Plan Announced
Providence, RI — On Thursday, Providence city officials including Mayor Jorge O. Elorza announced a new plan for the neighborhoods along the Woonasquatucket River corridor.
“We’re thinking big about the Woonasquatucket River Corridor,” said Elorza.
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MORE INFO:
Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza unveils 20-year revitalization plan for Woonasquatucket River — Providence Journal, October 25, 2018
Woonasquatucket Vision Project Page
Smart Cities and the Symbiotic Relationship between Smart Governance and Citizen Engagement
BOSTON, MA — Tori Okner and Russ Preston collaborated to write Chapter 12 of Smart Cities: Foundations, Principles, and Application (published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc). The chapter, entitled Symbiotic Relationship between Smart Governance and Civic Engagement, suggests that for smart cities to succeed they must facilitate human connection. This can be achieved through smart governance, circumspect implementation of the tenants of smart cities, along with human‐centered planning and design. The daily experiences of a city's population represent an often‐untapped source of knowledge about how the city could be improved. Tapping into this knowledge base is essential for smart governance. The symbiotic relationship between citizen engagement and smart governance is explored through a case study on Somerville, Massachusetts. To read more, click the links below!
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Chapter Summary
Book Information
Hello Washington Street! Studio Week
Newton, MA — This month, Principle and the City of Newton held a public design workshop in the form of an on-the-ground Pop-Up Design Studio to explore a vision for Washington Street. From June 7 through June 12, the public was encouraged to stop by the studio at 1239 Washington Street anytime from 8:30am–9pm daily to participate in topic sessions, community dialogue, planning activities, and engage with the project team. For more information on the process including photo, video, and results, please go to the City's website.
MORE INFO:
City of Newton Washington Vision Plan Webpage