Riverdale LCI

Details:

  • City of Riverdale

  • Riverdale, Georgia

Highlights:

  • Activation of under-developed sites
  • Infill housing and mixed-use development
  • 2-day design charrette
  • Streetscape enhancements

Description:

TSW led a consultant team to update Riverdale’s Livable Center Initiative (LCI) Plan, adopted in 2007. This LCI update was done concurrently with the City’s comprehensive plan update, giving TSW the opportunity to incorporate some of the plan’s recommendations into the LCI update, and the opportunity to influence some of the comprehensive plan’s recommendations as well.

The plan considered two geographies: the LCI study area, and a subarea along Church Street, west of SR 85, the city’s primary north-south arterial. General recommendations related to transportation and economic development were applied to the whole LCI study area, while more detailed land use, zoning, and design recommendations were reserved for the Church Street subarea.

The plan’s vision was to activate key areas along Church Street with new development and redevelopment to bring in new residents and create long-term demand for commercial development. This new district would also attract visitors and bring a sense of pride to the city’s residents. The project involved an extensive public outreach effort with an online and paper survey and a 2-day charrette with the entire consultant team that included design sessions with the community, appearing at a local event to spread the word about the plan, and an open house to conclude the charrette.

The LCI Plan consisted of both design and policy goalsto reach the vision:

  • Create a livable environment for new and existing residents
  • Invest in a safer, more cohesive transportation network
  • Enhance public space
  • Create a thriving commercial core
  • Develop a “park once” environment
  • Enhance multi-modal transportation

The overall design framework considered a number of factors, including the community’s desire for a mixed-use Town Center, vacant historic properties owned by the City, limited real estate demand, transit expansion plans, and the need to improve pedestrian and cyclist safety along major streets. Two alternative design plans were developed: the first was based on market realities and would be more feasible in the short-term, and the second was a “pie in the sky” alternative that could be feasible either in the long-term or if a significant intervention in the market caused a large surge for new commercial development. The following are other key design recommendations that resulted from an extensive existing conditions analysis, market analysis, and public input:

  • Add residential density through a variety of housing types, including small-lot single-family, townhouses, and apartments, both stand-alone and over retail
  • Add new office and retail spaces, in both renovated and new buildings focused along Church and Powers Streets and cross streets
  • Improve streetscapes with reduced travel lane widths to slow down traffic, new and expanded sidewalks, bicycle facilities, and landscaping to promote safety and comfort.
  • Improvements to the Riverdale Regional Park that include a community garden and new playgrounds and sports fields.