TACTICAL REVITALIZATION PLAN FOR DOWNTOWN ALBANY NY

Project Approach, Scope of Work, and Deliverables
transportation aspirations of Albany 2030 with the needs of Downtown. The city already has a
broad network of bus connections, is located at the intersection of major rail links from Boston
and New York, is a local center of biking, and the river itself presents an alternative mode
of transit. These factors would suggest that downtown should now capitalize on its already
walkable, pleasant environment and encourage citizens and visitors alike to leave their cars at
home. We have added Nelson Nygaard to our team to apply their creative parking strategies to
the Tactical Plan and to broaden our thinking about transportation and other connections within
the Downtown.
D) Integrating the Future Convention Center with Downtown
The future convention center is both an opportunity and a concern, in that large buildings can
be problematic for urban districts. Siting and locating entrances (or the lack of) as well as
parking availability and access will determine how well a large structure can integrate with a
walkable downtown. We will be thorough in our study of the impact the convention center has
on the Downtown. We will determine the most important concerns and hopes of the citizens
regarding the convention center, perhaps through prototyping to help them understand the
scale of the structure and the palate of opportunities to be found there. We will endeavor to
create an understanding of its impact on downtown on days when it is not in use as when an
event is being held. We will help to identify the issues that need to be addressed prior to the
initiation of design undertake an analysis of additional improvements to the public realm that
should be included in the design of the convention center. We will look for interventions that
will maximize movement and interaction between patrons of the convention center and other
downtown activity generators. We hope this close examination will engender a higher degree of
support and excitement from the community.
3. Advancing a Vision Based on Clearly Expressed Goals and Strategies
The most critical element of a bold, long-term vision for a community is instilling within it a
strong sense of ownership and buy-in from its stakeholders and citizens. This is especially
true in downtown efforts, as the creation of public/private partnerships, the use of financial
incentives, and the prioritization of certain catalytic projects are often subject to robust
community debate.
In addition, it is a certainty that over a ten-year planning horizon, market, political, economic,
and cultural conditions will change, and both challenges and opportunities will arise that were
not originally anticipated. A strong master plan, while specifying detailed implementation
actions, must be able to accommodate fluctuations in the marketplace and shifting
demographics; in fact, it must assume they will occur.
We have found that the development of a strong set of guiding principles is a key element to
long-term success; in essence these broad principles provide the community with an overall
vision while allowing the implementation entities to deal with the ever-changing details of the
market or constituencies at any given point in time. The guiding principles can also provide a
clear and concise framework in the review of all proposed subsequent actions in downtown—