Hotels Entertainment Commercial Downtown Placemaking Redevelopment Public Art Plan Update (This Page Left Blank Intentionally) Riverwalk Residential Retail January, 2017 Prepared By: Festivals Innovation Jobs Augusta Planning and Development Department Office Melanie Wilson, Director Contents A Note to Readers ............................................................................................................... i List of Acronyms .................................................................................................................. i Executive Summary ............................................................................................................ ii 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Background and Purpose ............................................................................................. 2 1.2 Downtown Historic Properties - 2013 ......................................................................... 3 1.3 Downtown Urban Redevelopment Areas - 2013 ......................................................... 4 2 Augusta's Downtown Redevelopment Area ................................................................. 6 2.1 Redevelopment Criteria within URA ............................................................................ 8 2.1.1 Municipal Building - Project Update .............................................................. 13 2.1.2 Port Royal - Project Update ........................................................................... 14 2.1.3 Depot Site - Project Update ........................................................................... 14 2.1.4 Depot Station Renovation and Upgrade ....................................................... 15 2.2 Socioeconomic Data Profile ....................................................................................... 15 2.3 Downtown Augusta - Current and Future Land Use ................................................. 20 2.4 Existing Zoning and Overlay Districts ........................................................................ 21 2.4.1 Overlay District .............................................................................................. 23 3 Zoning and Land Use Compatibility ............................................................................ 26 3.1 Land Use Compatibility .............................................................................................. 26 3.2 Downtown Design Guidelines .................................................................................... 27 3.2.1 Augusta Downtown Historic District ............................................................. 28 3.2.2 The Levee ....................................................................................................... 28 3.2.3 Place Making .................................................................................................. 29 3.2.4 Parking ........................................................................................................... 32 3.3 Other Downtown Development & Design Guidelines Considerations ...................... 38 3.3.1 Augusta-Richmond County Target Area Master Plan .................................... 38 3.3.2 The Westobou Vision: Augusta/North Augusta 2009 Master Plan ............... 39 3.3.3 Revitalizing the Garden City: Augusta Sustainable Development Agenda (ASDA) 2010 ............................................................................................................... 42 Augusta’s Downtown Redevelopment Plan Update 3.3.4 Walkability and Age-Friendly Streets: Opportunities to Transform Augusta’s Built Environment ...................................................................................................... 43 3.3.5 Age-Friendly Community - Active Living Workshop: ..................................... 43 3.4 Augusta Regional Transportation Study Long Range Transportation Plan 2040 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 45 4 Future Private Redevelopment Projects and Investment ............................................ 46 4.1 Community Vision for the Augusta DRA .................................................................... 46 4.2 Recent Improvement Initiatives................................................................................. 47 5 Public Involvement .................................................................................................... 49 5.1 Public Comments on Issues and Opportunities ......................................................... 49 6 Funding Sources and Incentives ................................................................................. 51 7 Implementation Strategy........................................................................................... 54 7.1 Organization .............................................................................................................. 54 7.1.1 Stakeholder Adoption and Management of Implementation Process ......... 54 7.1.2 Maintain Active Oversight of the Development of the DRA ......................... 54 7.2 Parking ....................................................................................................................... 55 7.2.1 Public Review Comments .............................................................................. 55 7.3 Redevelopment Opportunities ................................................................................... 56 7.4 Land Use .................................................................................................................... 56 7.5 Public Realm .............................................................................................................. 57 7.6 Cultural Resources ..................................................................................................... 57 7.7 Implementation Strategy Matrix ............................................................................... 58 Appendix A. Maps ............................................................................................................ 64 Appendix B. Augusta Mayor and Commission ................................................................... 71 Mayor Hardie Davis, Jr. .................................................................................................... 71 Augusta-Richmond County Commission: .......................................................................... 71 Appendix C. DRA Market Analysis .................................................................................... 72 Methodology ...................................................................................................................... 72 Market Analysis Update ..................................................................................................... 75 Appendix D. Public Review Process .................................................................................. 80 Appendix E. References and Resources ........................................................................... 102 Appendix F. Tax Parcel ID Numbers ................................................................................ 103 Appendix G. Project Area Status ..................................................................................... 104 Augusta’s Downtown Redevelopment Plan Update List of Figures Figure 1: Downtown Redevelopment Area .................................................................................... 8 Figure 2: Downtown Redevelopment Area - Blighted Properties ................................................ 10 Figure 3: Vacant Property ............................................................................................................. 11 Figure 4: Crime (2013-2015) ......................................................................................................... 12 Figure 5: Zoning Map .................................................................................................................... 22 Figure 6: Riverwalk Downtown Augusta ....................................................................................... 28 Figure 7: Minimum Height and Setback ....................................................................................... 29 Figure 8: Downtown Redevelopment Area – Public Parking ........................................................ 35 Figure 9: Target Area Master Plan Map ........................................................................................ 39 Figure 10: The Westobou Vision Map........................................................................................... 40 Figure 11: Transportation Investment Act (TIA) Map ................................................................... 53 List of Tables Table 1: Augusta Downtown Redevelopment Areas ...................................................................... iii Table 2: Means of Transportation to Work .................................................................................. 16 Table 3: Housing and Population Estimates ................................................................................. 16 Table 4: Education (Age 25+) ........................................................................................................ 17 Table 5: Median Household Income ............................................................................................. 17 Table 6: Race/Ethnicity ................................................................................................................