DEKALB COUNTY, GA — Doraville and Decatur, Georgia have more in common than their DeKalb County location. Citizens of both metro Atlanta cities have spent a great deal of time envisioning their communities’ future growth and relying on Tunnell-Spangler-Walsh & Associates (TSW) to translate their visions into workable plans. The Atlanta-based full-service planning, architecture and landscape architecture firm (www.tunspan.com) has spent the past year working with community leaders to develop Master Plans for Doraville and Decatur, and both were unanimously approved recently.
Decatur, GA
The unanimous approval by Decatur’s City Commission of the 2010 Strategic Plan was the culmination of a year-long process that involved over 1,500 citizens and hundreds of meetings. Over the past 12 months, neighbors brainstormed how they wanted their city to look and function in the future. Working with the team from Tunnell-Spangler-Walsh, the group agreed on four guiding principles:
• Manage growth while retaining character
• Encourage a diverse and engaged community
• Serve as good stewards of the environment and community resources
• Support a safe, healthy, life-long community
From there, the community identified a number of goals inspired by the four principles and drafted specific tasks in support of each. Special focus was given to the future of transportation, greenways, redevelopment, affordable housing and cultural facilities.
“TSW is committed to developing sustainable towns and neighborhoods through an interdisciplinary and inclusive planning and design process,” said Caleb Racicot, AICP, TSW senior planner. “Our job was made easier by the fact that Decatur has a record of success with this process. A decade ago, the community came together to create the 2000 Strategic Plan, which included a number of specific goals outlining policy, funding, urban living, active community life, vibrant restaurants and great recreation. The majority of those dreams have been realized, paving the way for the next phase of growth for this dynamic community.” http://decaturnext.com/
Doraville, GA
Doraville faces a unique development opportunity following the closing of the General Motors Plant, which operated from 1947 – 2008. The 165-acre site is ripe for redevelopment as a mixed-use community, and the city invited Tunnell-Spangler-Walsh & Associates to create a master plan that would define a community-based vision for the site, and ensure that its redevelopment benefited the surrounding area. The result is the 2010 Doraville Downtown Master Plan, which was recently unanimously approved by the Doraville City Council.
This current effort is the second LCI (Livable Centers Initiative) undertaken by the City of Doraville in recent years. The plan was completed following a series of community meetings, stakeholder interviews and advisory team meetings. It incorporates:
• A vision for establishing a quality, mixed-use employment center on the GM site
• Concepts for the existing Doraville town center
• Sidewalk, roadway and transit upgrades
• Open space and greenway projects
• Economic development strategies
• Zoning, land use and design concepts
“The opportunity to redevelop the GM site is a once-in-a-lifetime situation for Doraville,” said Racicot. “City leaders are well aware that whatever happens on the plant site will greatly impact the surrounding areas, including parts of the City of Chamblee. At the same time, redevelopment can be used to further connect neighboring communities by filling housing and economic voids, fostering quality growth, and expanding public spaces. The goal of the plan is to capitalize on these opportunities and ensure that future redevelopment benefits Doraville, Chamblee, other surrounding communities, and the region.” http://www.tunspan.com/doraville/index.html
About Tunnell-Spangler-Walsh & Associates
Tunnell-Spangler-Walsh is a full-service planning, architecture and landscape architecture firm. The award-winning company was founded in Atlanta by Bill Tunnell, Jerry Spangler and Thomas Walsh in 1990 and specializes in developing sustainable communities, greenspaces, homes and commercial buildings. TSW is a leader in the New Urbanist movement and employs a community planning and design process that links tradition and context with today’s cultural and environmental demands. By integrating the disciplines of planning, landscape architecture and architecture, TSW delivers a continuum of design services to its clients, which has resulted in some of the Southeast’s most appealing and successful mixed-use communities, campuses, commercial buildings, resorts, streetscapes, homes and parks.
Sustainable design is an integral part of all TSW work, from the master plan level to the individual building components. Most of TSW’s staff are LEED Accredited Professionals and their designs incorporate a range of ideas for progressive energy and resource saving solutions. For more information, visit www.tunspan.com.
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This post was submitted by Julie Herron Carson.
