HomeProgress-Index, 03/04/2007
Visit showcases Petersburg’s potential
The architects liked what they saw in Petersburg.
Three members of the American Institute of Architects recently toured Petersburg and the surrounding area and came away with the same impression of many Tri-Cities visitors.
“The city really has some exceptional buildings,” said Jane Jenkins, the team leader, after a two-hour driving tour.
The architects are part of the city’s Regional/Urban Design Assistance Team that is set to come back for an intensive four-day process of designing a strategic plan for the community.
The goal of the process is not to just produce another report, but an action plan with step-by-step goals of how to proceed. And the key to this planning process — unlike other reports — is that is community based. In other words, its the citizens, activists and business people who are the key to moving the plan forward.
Think of it as a grass-roots effort instead of a top-down process.
And that community-based activism might be our greatest asset and our greatest hope for future progress.
Jenkins noticed that the community’s best resource was the number of dedicated people. “There are a lot of people here who genuinely are concerned about their community,” she said.
The R/UDAT process in Petersburg began a little more than a year ago when more than 300 residents attended the first Downtown Petersburg Inc. meeting in January 2006.
Architectural consultant Charles Zucker, who has already made several trips to the city over the past year in preparation for the R/UDAT process, said he’s amazed at how much of the city’s historical “fabric” is still intact.
“There’s still an actual downtown,” Zucker said. “It really should be the center of public business and commerce.”
And of course, the city’s extraordinary history is a major asset.
Erin Simmons, another team member, said that it is rare that cities have as much of their original or historical downtown intact.
Designated team leader Jane Jenkins, and Erin Simmons made the trip to the city a month ahead of when they will be back for
While the initial assessment was positive, it’s the look toward the future that is the most important for the city.
“It also has a lot of potential,” Simmons said.
That is an assessment we strongly endorse.
