About the Initiative
The Town Council has hired a consultant, John Stainback of Stainback Public/Private Real Estate, to guide the Town through a process potentially leading to the negotiation of a development agreement for mixed-use projects on Town Parking Lot 2 and/or Town Parking Lot 5.
Lot 2 is at the corner of East Rosemary Street and Columbia Street. Lot 5 is bounded by West Franklin Street, Church Street and West Rosemary Street.
The Downtown Small Area Plan identified both sites as "opportunity areas" for future development. In recent years the Town has conducted design workshops to solicit input from the public on the potential future use of the sites.
The Council has adopted a set of Principles and Priorities for guiding the development of the two sites; many more decisions lie ahead. The Initiative will provide opportunities for public input at each stage in the process.
On November 20, 2003 about 30 people attended the kickoff meeting for the initiative at the Old Post Office downtown. The initial step in the process is the development of a Market Demand Study that will determine the demand for housing, retail, offices and entertainment uses at the two sites.