Organization to survey downtown employment

Tuesday, July 15, 2008 July 16, 2008 08:58 am

— Realizing the importance of continuing to plan for the future of the downtown, the Albemarle City Council, in the 2008/2009 budget, approved funds to update the 2001 plan and to conduct a parking/traffic study in conjunction with the master plan.
Arnett-Muldrow Assoc., an urban planning team from Greenville, S.C. conducted the initial master plan and will also spearhead the update.
As part of the updating process, ADDC will conduct a survey of businesses to determine how many people are employed in the downtown district.
According to Chris Bramlett, current ADDC board chairman: “Such information is critical in our efforts to recruit new businesses downtown and to serve the parking needs for both customers and employees. This is especially true for restaurants that depend on a reasonable amount of street traffic to augment their destination clients.”
During the next several weeks, a survey team, consisting of several volunteers, will be canvassing businesses located in the municipal service district to determine the number of full and part time employees.
Albemarle’s first downtown master plan was completed in 2001. Implementation began almost immediately. This collaborative effort, led by Albemarle Downtown Development Corporation (ADDC), included input from citizens in and around the city and county.
“In developing that first plan, it was important for us to involve as many downtown stakeholders as possible as we began to lay the ground work for the future of our downtown” said Vicki Coggins, ADDC executive director.
“We had focus group meetings as well as meetings with city and county elected officials and downtown business and property owners.”
“Without the involvement of key stakeholders including the citizens of a community, a project is destined for the dusty shelf,” said Tripp Muldrow.
“Our public process depends on listening to our clients and we're not afraid to use creative methods to hear what they have to say.”
Muldrow continued: “We’re excited about coming back to Albemarle and reviewing the changes that have taken place since 2001.
“Any plan can offer a vision for the future of a community. We back the vision with thorough and thoughtful research into the economics that lead to implementation.”
For more information contact Vicki Coggins at (704) 984-9415.