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City of Brighton Blueprint Downtown Brighton Executive Summary January 2007 Background Working closely with the Brighton City Council, the Brighton Urban Renewal Authority (BURA) initiated a special task force in August 2006 to develop a Brighton Downtown Vision and Strategic Plan. Task force members included representatives from the Brighton Urban Renewal Authority, Economic Development Corporation, Downtown Development Authority, Historic Preservation Commission, Planning Commission, Brighton Chamber of Commerce, Downtown retail stores, community members, property owners and City of Brighton council members. The Mayor and City Council requested that BURA complete the initiative by January 2007. BURA hired Urban Neighborhoods, a redevelopment consulting firm headed by Dana Crawford, to facilitate the process and create this report. The Urban Neighborhoods team also included Kemp Will, attorney and property transition manager, Nigel Staton, landscape architect, and Paul Brokering, architect. City employee Helen Rodriquez coordinated the Brighton Downtown Initiative. Community Process The Downtown Task Force started work in Summer of 2006 and quickly reached consensus on the geographic boundaries of the core downtown area as well as short and long term planning regions in the greater downtown area. (Attached map) In order to better understand business in the core Downtown, city staff made personal visits to business owners and managers to survey them on all aspects of their business. More than 100 surveys have been completed, and the inventory will continue until all 138 businesses have been surveyed. An important theme emerging from the surveys is the request for continued improvements to parking availability and access. On October 21, 2006, more than 150 community members participated in a Placemaking workshop at the Bella Sera Events Center. Participants included business owners, community leaders, property owners, city and agency officials and private citizens. The seven-hour day started with a discussion of past efforts to enhance downtown and a slide show of buildings, streetscapes, parks and architecture to help participants think about downtown design. The group then formed 12 teams, each assigned to a specific area of downtown. Each team rated their area based on a variety of criteria and reported their results to the entire group. On November 3, a special training session was held for Downtown merchants led by Barbara Wold, an international author and business strategist. Title of the session was “How to Increase Your Business Profits by 25% and Being Jazzed About Your Customers.” ---PAGE BREAK--- The Downtown Task Force established priorities based on all of the events and meetings. Urban Neighborhoods has all of the ideas into the following recommendations for Downtown Brighton. Downtown Brighton Vision Downtown Brighton can become the City’s shopping and entertainment hub, and a regional destination for people wanting to experience an authentic local downtown district. So many communities lack a soul; people today yearn for a sense of place and interesting things to do. They want a place where they can take their family to shop, eat and have fun, and feel safe doing it. Downtown Brighton is poised to be that place. It already has a number of assets, including a strong heritage, historic buildings, successful businesses, highway access, proximity to the Platte River and future light rail service. Already, new investment in Downtown is attracting more investment. For example, a number of current property owners are making new investments in Downtown and buying other Downtown buildings. And Downtown Brighton has room to grow. But one of Downtown’s biggest assets is civic involvement—the city departments, agencies, businesses, community groups and citizens that participated in this initiative. This is a community that has a vision--and the will to implement it. Placemaking Recommendations In order to be a place that people love and visit often, Downtown Brighton needs to be attractive, safe, interesting and easy to get around. It also needs to be economically sustainable. Some solutions improve what is already there. Others are new projects that could be for cultural and economic change. First the improvements: 1. Make Downtown clean and safe: add more landscaping, lighting, outdoor seating, signage and parking management. 2. Improve the corner of Main and Bridge to make it more pedestrian-friendly. This might include wider sidewalks, better crosswalks, traffic calming measures and improved signage. 3. Improve connections with the Pavilions and provide better wayfinding throughout Downtown. As new development occurs, South Main and First Streets will eventually provide better connections to the Pavilions. A short term, less expensive approach is to establish a signage code and create a new signage system Downtown. 4. Façade improvements to historic buildings on the first two blocks of North Main Street. Many of these 1800s and 1900s-era buildings have original brick facades and ---PAGE BREAK--- architectural details that could be restored, creating a handsome streetscape that celebrates Brighton’s history. 5. Pocket Parks: create small gathering places for adults and children, perhaps with a theme respectful of local Hispanic heritage. This would provide an area for adults to rest while children blow off steam. 6. Continue to address parking issues. Perhaps a parking plan for the Downtown area. Now the catalytic initiatives: 1. Create a Civic Center: convert the historic Armory building into a performing arts center and build a library. Music, dance and theater groups are already in place and need performance space. The Armory is ideally suited for this use and has served as a performance venue in the past. Funding from the recently passed library bond issue plus funds from the Colorado Historical Fund could make this a reality in the near future. 2. Establish a Saturday Market: possibly located on Cabbage Street near Strong Street, an upscale market could offer produce as well as local arts, crafts and other products. It would celebrate Brighton’s heritage with a modern twist. The market would be a regional draw for a wide variety of people and their families. The Project for Public Spaces has funding available for public markets. 3. South Main Street.: improve connections between the Pavilions to South Main Street and continuing north of Bridge. New restaurants are already open on South Main Street with other investment plans in place. Consolidation of ownership is emerging in anticipation of redevelopment. Possible longer range connections between South Main and First Street could be realized through new building and circulation patterns. 4. Plan Downtown Brighton West: Brighton’s history is deeply tied to the rich agricultural land surrounding the City and to the South Platte River. The City should reclaim and build on this heritage by connecting Downtown to the South Platte River. The area would provide a refreshing change of pace and dramatic mountain views. Think San Antonio’s Riverwalk, or Denver’s Platte River Valley. a. Veteran’s park could be expanded by adding a trail system, educational programs and recreational opportunities. b. The area west of U.S. 85 and north of Bridge Street along the South Platte River offers an exceptional development opportunity. New development could include an eclectic mix of retail stores, restaurants, offices, public spaces and recreational amenities. c. A transit station located on or near the river park on a light rail line could spur even more redevelopment and river enhancement projects. Historic Preservation ---PAGE BREAK--- Brighton’s Historic Preservation Commission (BHPC) can apply for preservation and rehabilitation programs such as façade improvements through the Colorado Historical Fund. The Commission can also establish guidelines for building development Downtown with a program for expeditious design review. The city should place as a high priority the formation of a state “Certified Local Government” thru the BHPC. Retail Business Mix In order to serve the daily needs of local citizens and be a regional shopping destination, Downtown Brighton needs a more diverse retail and business mix. Improvements such as landscaping, lighting and outdoor seating will all make the Downtown shopping district inviting, but it needs to be inviting from a retail mix perspective as well. It also needs to preserve the “small town feel” so many people in the community care deeply about. The report suggests a number of retail and business uses that are based on concepts from the Placemaking workshop as well as earlier Downtown Brighton studies. Downtown Brighton already has a number of successful retail stores and businesses, but they are in isolated locations. New stores and businesses can fill in the gaps and provide a more interesting and easier shopping experience for the consumer—resulting in more business for everyone. Housing Another way to create energy and business in Downtown is to have people living there. Brighton should encourage development of a wide variety of housing in the downtown district. Residents come and go at different times of the day and are at home when businesses are closed at night. They make a Downtown area a 24-hour community, and a safer one at that. As Downtown evolves, it will offer a nice quality of life for people who want the convenience of living close to work, school, parks, restaurants and places to do errands. Management Now that momentum is underway, it is critical for the City to create a management structure to implement the Downtown recommendations. Implementation will require hundreds of volunteers and thousands of hours. Volunteer time should be professionally organized and assisted for maximum results. The report suggests that the lead agencies be the Downtown Development Authority and the possible formation of a Downtown Business Association. The two organizations could merge and raise funds to support key initiatives. Or the Downtown Initiative Task Force could become an operating arm of the DDA. The ultimate structure should make sense locally and maximize the expertise of all agencies. Marketing A variety of things should be done to maintain community enthusiasm and pride in Downtown. The best marketing is action, which generates local news coverage of successes large and small. Special events and cultural happenings will attract diverse groups of people and educational ---PAGE BREAK--- outreach will get youth involved in Downtown’s future. Bring the Downtown businesses together to form a marketing cooperative effort where businesses jointly fund, develop, and execute a Downtown marketing plan. Funding Often the difference between a plan and reality is money. Implementation of the Blueprint Downtown Brighton initiatives will require funding from a variety of sources. The City has already allocated $150,000 for projects in 2007, which could also be used as a match to establish a revolving fund. BURA plans to budget some funds to leverage other resources. The Brighton Urban Renewal Authority can utilize Tax Increment Financing dollars. Significant funds are also available through the Colorado Historical Society. Community Development Corporations can be established for specific purposes and the federally sponsored Community Revitalization Act can motivate local banks to provide loan programs. Towns with similar challenges have created Bond issues to fund larger projects. Numerous foundations have funds for Downtown initiatives. Next Steps City staff will develop a work plan to implement Blueprint Downtown Brighton. The work plan will include a recommended management structure, action steps and funding strategies. It will be presented to City Council.