This document summarizes strategies for creating successful communities and a stronger region through activity centers. It identifies 6 place types and 4 opportunity types for targeted regional growth. Case studies of 3 activity centers - Rosslyn, Shirlington, and Columbia Pike Town Center - analyze their place and opportunity types, goals, and recommended strategies and tools. These include zoning interventions, public finance options, development incentives, and partnerships to achieve goals like maximizing market potential, adding parks and public space, encouraging mixed uses, and stabilizing and preserving land uses. The document advocates a regional approach to identifying common characteristics of activity centers to facilitate knowledge sharing between local governments.
6. What Are Activity Centers?
Places targeted for regional growth
Urban & suburban centers, traditional
towns, emerging communities
Consistent with local planning
Mixed-use
Aligned with existing &
planned transportation network
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9. Finding (& Sharing) What Works
•
Regional perspective: Activity Centers with
common characteristics can benefit from
similar strategies
•
Creates “common playbook”
•
Facilitates regional knowledge-sharing—local
governments can learn from each other
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10. Report Overview
2/3 of Centers Analyzed
Place
Types
Opportunity
Types
Goals
Goals
Strategies
Strategies
Tools
Tools
10
11. 6 Place Types
Urban Center
Dense Mixed-Use
Suburban Multi-Use
Downtown DC
Reston Town Center
Falls Church
Close-in & Urbanizing
Revitalizing Urban
Satellite City
West Hyattsville
Minnesota Avenue
Downtown Frederick
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17. Shirlington:
Types
Goals
Add Parks & Public Space
Dense Mixed-Use
Center
Encourage Additional
Mix of Uses
Stable Center
Leverage Existing Assets
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18. Shirlington: Strategies & Tools
Public Private Partnership
Development Incentives
• Land swaps/donations
• Joint development/
development assistance
• Density bonuses
• Reduced impact fees
• Transfer of Development
Rights (TDR)
Commercial & Job
Diversification
• Identify retail & services gaps
• Temporary/pilot/ flexible
businesses, e.g. food trucks,
pop-ups
Business Retention &
Promotion
• Revolving micro-loan fund
• Façade improvements
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20. Columbia Pike Town Center:
Types
Goals
Close-In &
Urbanizing Center
Create New/Strengthen
Existing Land Uses
Create Stronger Brand/Image
Transforming
Center
Stabilize & Preserve
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21. Columbia Pike Town Center:
Strategies & Tools
Development Incentives
• Prioritize catalyst
projects
• Land banking
• Density bonuses
• Reduced impact fees
Develop Stewardship
Entities
• Special services district
• Business improvement
district (BID)
• Catalytic development
entity (CDE)
Affordable Housing
Preservation
• Long-term affordability
covenants
• Shared-equity
homeownership
• Just-cause eviction
controls
Public-Private
Partnerships
• Land swaps/donations
• Joint development/
development assistance
Business Retention &
Promotion
• Revolving micro-loan fund
• Technical assistance for
small-/locally-owned
businesses
• Façade improvements
• Local hiring & contracting
provisions
21
22. Digging into urban form:
Columbia Pike Town Center
URBAN
FABRIC
DESTINATIONS
LIVELINESS
& UPKEEP
COMFORT
22
23. Digging into urban form:
Columbia Pike Town Center
HARDEST TO CHANGE
EASIEST TO CHANGE
(LOWEST-HANGING FRUIT)
23
24. Digging into urban form:
Columbia Pike Town Center
LOW-SCORING
(NEEDS)
HIGH-SCORING
(ASSETS)
24
25. Digging into urban form:
Columbia Pike Town Center
•
Place need = Proximity
Proximity strategies:
• Charrette to identify community needs
• New walkable destinations – markets,
gathering places, etc.
• Temporary/flexible programming – food
trucks, farmers markets, public events
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26. Digging into urban form:
Columbia Pike Town Center
•
Place need = Parks & Public Spaces
Parks & Public Spaces strategies:
• ID locations for new parks/public spaces
• Public-private partnerships to develop
quasi-public spaces
• Better programming/upkeep of existing
parks & public spaces
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27. Report available at www.regionforward.org/reports
Ryan Hand rhand@mwcog.org | Sophie Mintier smintier@mwcog.org