HomeProgress-Index, 06/28/2006
Downtown Harbor Initiative has eager participants
BY JULIE BUCHANAN, STAFF WRITER, 06/28/2006
PETERSBURG — About 115 people braved gray skies last night to attend a meeting at the Petersburg Regional Art Center on how they could become involved in the Downtown Harbor Initiative, a citizen-planning project for future development in downtown Petersburg and along the city’s inner harbor.
After listening to presentations by members of the project steering committee, 28-year-old Adrian Maver wasted no time signing up for one of the initiative’s many sub-committees. He said he’s lived in Petersburg for a year-and-a-half and is ready to see some changes.
“This is the single, biggest project that’s going to bring tourism to Petersburg,” said Maver, who is working to restore the older home he lives in on Halifax Street. “I think this [the Downtown Harbor Initiative] will get people who wouldn’t normally talk to each other working together.”
Like many who attended last night’s meeting, Maver is hopeful that a revitalized downtown area and developed inner harbor with shops, restaurants and recreational activities will attract more visitors to Petersburg.
“We can get 1,000 people to come to the civic center on Thursday nights,” he said. “We just need a couple more things to attract more people.”
The Downtown Harbor Initiative is being developed under the umbrella of Downtown Petersburg Inc., the nonprofit organization that puts on NostalgiaFest each fall. Its members are working to bring in a group of planners and architects from the American Institute of Architecture to conduct a special week-long planning study in November.
Called a Regional Urban Design Assistance Team program, the study will use citizen input to create a plan of development for downtown and the inner harbor, once the Appomattox River is dredged.
“It’s up to the community to work through the next year to put together and work out their plans,” said Dulaney Ward, a member of the steering committee.
Total costs to bring in the R/UDAT team will run approximately $55,000, and DPI has already raised about a quarter of that funding, said Terry Ammons, vice chairman of the steering committee. He anticipates the remainder will come in the form of both in-kind and cash donations.
Steering committee member Rob White says he hopes to raise two-thirds of the funding by early September.
“It’s aggressive, but it’s doable,” he said.
DPI will spend the next few months collecting feedback on what citizens want in their downtown. Many who came to last night’s meeting filled out a detailed questionnaire on what new additions they would like to see — waterfront shopping, a marina and professional office spaces were among the suggested development.
Mayor Annie M. Mickens, who attended the meeting, said she was excited to see citizens taking an interest in the future of downtown. The city, she said, has been working on developing the harbor for some time.
“We’ve been working with the harbor initiative as long as there’s been a channel,” she said. “The city’s intent is that it will be done. What people need to understand is we’re working with federal money and someone else’s time.
“We appreciate the fact that there is enthusiasm and a desire for this. We just want to make sure people know this is not a tomorrow project.”
The city’s R/UDAT application is scheduled to be submitted by July 15. The planning method was designed to give citizens more input in the development of their communities and has been successful in more than 100 other American cities.
“It’s got a national reputation in terms of public relations,” Ward said. “The R/UDAT will put us on the map.”
The project’s next public meeting is set for Aug. 22 at PRAC.
For more information, visit www.petersburgharbor.org.
• Julie Buchanan may be reached at 722-5155.
