TACTICAL REVITALIZATION PLAN FOR DOWNTOWN ALBANY NY

Project Approach, Scope of Work, and Deliverables
• Immersion: Elements of the NBBJ team will spend several days as “beta testers” or
“mystery visitor” in the Downtown and North Warehouse district making observations about
socio-demographics, comfort, activity levels, and patterns of use. Team members will
randomly engage in informal Q&A with front-line customer service workers in restaurants,
hotels, retail shops and convenience stores asking them about recommendations on things
to do and places to go or directions to get to places. Members of our team will walk the
streets, attend events, shop the stores and eat in the restaurants. We will document
offerings and price points, wayfinding, brand communication and other issues critical to
making Downtown Albany a vibrant center for an emerging tech region.
• Pecha Kucha Albany: Specifically the team wants to hear from Albany using a Pecha
Kucha type-format about the assets, happenings and initiatives in Albany that can serve as
the basis to build an implementation agenda. The team proposes to engage the “action
teams” in the community and other active stakeholders to develop the presentation team.
• Albany Visual Essay: Stakeholders and residents will create an electronic image bank of
Albany that can be used to help identify core assets and opportunities. The team proposes
to work with students from local higher education institutions to translate this image bank
into a multimedia narrative about the Downtown and warehouse district.
In addition to the team’s active listening strategy, a series of alternative analytical tools and
techniques will supplement more conventional analysis.
• Activity Cluster Mapping: The NBBJ team will map existing retail locations, activity
centers, public amenities and other related items to generate maps to better understand
connections, walk sheds and areas of activity where energy is being created that can
potentially be accelerated.
• Crowdsourcing Analytics: Technologies such as those like Shareabouts provide an
important tool for gaining user input into a variety of urban design, transportation, parking
and economic activity questions.
• Test fits: The North Warehouse district offers the opportunity to be a vibrant mixed
enterprise village that can house entrepreneurs, research and development operations,
industrial artists, as well as differentiated residential and commercial offerings. A Test Fit
process allows for greater understanding of the physical capacity of land and buildings for
a variety of uses and building types.
A1. Collect and Analyze Market Data
Given the primary focus on developing a tactical implementation plan the team proposes to
take a unique approach to the project integrating real estate analysis with an approach similar
to that used for product development / product launch. We will examine the market from the
perspective of potential customers (potential residents and potential businesses emerging
from economic activity) by identifying their needs and desires and match them to the physical