• What is Smart Growth
• Coalition for Smarter Growth
• Urban Exchange in downtown Harrisonburg
  

• 23 Guiding Values for the Revitalization of Downtown Harrisonburg
• Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance
• Eugene Stolzfus Architects' "urban values & vision for downtown harrisonburg"
• Urban Exchange in downtown Harrisonburg
  

1. Build density within the City and maintain openness in the County.
2. Use building position and massing to define urban place at a public scale.
3. Use secondary building characteristics to tune-up how buildings relate to and form place at a public scale.
4. Use urban accessory elements to tune-up the subtleties of access and definition of urban spaces.
5. Use pedestrian-scale pavers for areas that are designed for and frequented by pedestrians.
6. Use building transparency to relate inside to outside.
7. Encourage mixed-use development throughout the city.
8. Encourage sidewalk cafés.
9. Develop a strategic parking plan.
10. liminate large surface parking lots, and provide structured parking decks of 4 to 6 stories.
11. Incorporate mixed-use into the sides of parking decks which front on streets.
12. Encourage growth of trees in the city.
13. Coordinate tree management and signage.
14. Uncover and open up Black's Run where possible.
15. Provide more park land in the downtown.
16. Support individual low-tech transport such as walking, bicycles, and scooters.
17. Develop good local public transport.
18. Facilitate an appropriate balance between pedestrian and car movement.
19. Engineer the downtown traffic plan to enhance downtown as a destination.
20. Support green design.
21. Cultivate the value that we are building a city for the long term.
22. Inform private developers about the urban values the city considers important.
23. Maintain in public places, visible displays of Harrisonburg's urban values.

Yesterday's issue of the Daily News Record included a letter to the editor from Dr. Bob Alotta commenting on the "local rock blasting" taking place at Urban Exchange -- or, as Dr. Alotta put it, "the new luxury condominiums on East Market Street."  (the site of the demolition is pictured below)



Dr. Alotta (intentionally or unintentionally) makes a few false implications:

1.  Dr. Alotta states that "Since work began on this project, the water department had to replace three sections of sewer line in the middle of Newman Avenue..." 

I guess, technically, this is true, if you consider the start of Urban Exchange when the developers started making plans for the site . . . and if you don't assume (as many did) that the sewer line replacements were a result of the Urban Exchange project. 

In fact --- the sewer line replacements were not and are not being made to allow for the development of the Urban Exchange project. 

(Source: Marilyn, at Harrisonburg Water & Sewer, 540-434-9959)

2.  Dr. Alotta goes on to say that "A gas line was also ruptured." and that "...the city shouldn't have to absorb the cost of repairs..." that the builder should. 

I am not aware of a gas line rupturing --- but as the Urban Exchange demolition and site work has begun, a gas line did need to be relocated that traversed the Urban Exchange property.  However, despite Dr. Alotta's assertion to the contrary, the developers did have to pay for this work --- not the city! 

(Source: The developers, who had to pay for the work)

• B-1 zoning (downtown central business district)
• Current commercial use categorization
• Property improvements of $50,000 or greater

• Appreciation per year ranged from 7% to 26%.
• Average appreciation per year was 16%.

• Appreciation per year ranged from 1% to 56%.
• Average appreciation per year was 12%.