TACTICAL REVITALIZATION PLAN FOR DOWNTOWN ALBANY NY

Project Approach, Scope of Work, and Deliverables
activity) by identifying their needs and desires and match them to the physical abilities
(existing real estate, vacant land, amenities) to focus the planning and real estate programming
decisions on items with the best chances for success.
7. Properly Timing Marketing and Civic Promotion
A major element of the success of downtown Albany will be a strong, creative, and appropriate
marketing effort. Many downtowns struggle with the “right time” to create or develop such a
branding or theming effort, and we understand this dilemma. The collective experience of our
team members suggest that it is first necessary to determine the authenticity of a downtown
– its sense of place – and develop the brand around the assets that define this authenticity.
These may be obvious, such as the river, or perhaps somewhat under the radar, which provides
new opportunities. We have been involved in a number of projects where the essence of a
place – that often intangible thing that distinguishes one city from another defining the basis
for an authentic brand – evolves out of the master planning or project planning process, and is
much stronger as a result.
Through our investigation, including listening to the stories of the citizens and the passions of
the members of our action teams, we aim to get to the heart of Albany’s identity and build upon
that.
One example of a successful discovery of identity is the Glassworks District in Louisville. The
development prospects of a six block area on what was considered an undesirable location on
the edge of downtown was extremely poor, and disinvestment was the norm. The team utilized
the “asset” in Louisville of a strong – but not publicly recognized – glass art community as an
anchor for the area, and began through a variety of means to highlight – and celebrate – this
authentic art niche. Today, the district – branded as Glassworks – is a destination to local
residents, visitors, and glass artists and has become one of the most desirable locations in all
of downtown Louisville.
8. Expanding Housing Types and Necessary Supporting Amenities
Our review of Capitalize Albany’s focus on residential development indicates the Corporation’s
keen awareness of the importance of downtown housing as a critical component of the
success and sustainability of a tactical revitalization program. In addition, it is clear that the
Corporation understands that a downtown housing program needs to be multi-dimensional,
by both providing an atmosphere and a collection of neighborhood amenities attractive to the
target market and – equally important – overcoming obstacles to getting a critical mass of
supply on to the market. Our experience in downtown markets similar to Albany always places
an extremely high priority on the infusion of new residents as a key driver, and our team has
specific experience in creating strategies to do so. Capitalize Albany has already provided a
strong base of tools and techniques in this regard, especially in focusing on the development
challenges related to the supply of downtown units, and we look forward to helping you take
this to the next level.