Center City Association: American Institute of Architects to Help Springfield Invigorate Downtown Renewal.

Business Editors

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 1, 2002

Team of Urban Experts from Across the Nation Arrive Next Week

to Identify Ideas for Community Improvement

Next week a team of national experts will spend four intensive days studying Springfield's center city, listening to residents and meeting with government officials in order to recommend next-step priorities for the city's downtown renewal. These downtown doctors will present their report before they leave the city in a time-tested program that adds adrenaline and expertise to downtown renewal.

The program, a public service of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), has helped communities develop renewal plans since 1967. A Regional/Urban Design Assistance Team (R/UDAT, pronounced ROO-dat) has only visited three Ohio communities(a) in the past; only a few cities are selected nationally each year.

Springfield has been working to address issues that affect many downtown areas across the country. While the last decade brought a new YMCA, library, hotel, performing arts center, historical center and other improvements, local leaders are not satisfied. They envision a more dynamic downtown with restored buildings, white-collar jobs, and the three Rs: restaurants, retail and residents.

The Center City Association, formed in 1999, has been a focal point for renewal efforts and recruited the R/UDAT program. Additionally, the Association has contracted First Avenues LLC of Worthington, Ohio for management and strategic development.

"Your downtown is the face of your community. Downtowns matter. If they are vibrant places, they impact economic development and quality of life throughout the city and region," said Jim Tinker, executive director of the Center City Association. "Successful downtowns are civic, cultural and commercial hubs."

AIA team members donate their time and professional services. They are selected for impartiality by having no current work in the community and by agreeing to not accept work resulting from the team's recommendations for three years. Tinker said the R/UDAT approach is especially appealing because it combines national expertise with local sensibilities to devise a plan that is appropriate, realistic and achievable.

The four-day assessment begins Fri., March 8 and includes meetings with city and area elected officials, tours, focus groups and a town meeting. The team has already received local data and the team leader has made two trips to the city.

The team then will spend the next 36 hours or so preparing a report that will be presented Mon., March 11 at a 3 p.m. news conference in the lobby of the Clark State Performing Arts Center Kuss Auditorium and at a 6 p.m. public meeting at Kuss Auditorium.

William Gilchrist, Ph.D., AIA, director of the Department of Planning and Engineering for the City of Birmingham, Ala., is the team leader for Springfield's R/UDAT. Other members are:

-- Stephen Dragos, FAIA, architect, Basking Ridge, N.J.

-- Hunter Gee, AIA, project architect, Looney Ricks Kiss, Nashville, Tenn.

-- Charlotte Kosmela, principal, SmithGroup, Washington, D.C.

-- Tom Leader, landscape architect, Tom Leader Studio, Berkeley, Calif.

-- Sian Llewellyn, senior associate, EDAW, Inc., Atlanta, Ga.

-- Grace Perdomo, architectural and urban designer, Wallace Roberts and Todd,
Coral Gables, Fla.

Eight graduate and undergraduate architectural students from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, will assist the R/UDAT team.

(a) Akron (1970), Warren County (1974), and Northern Wood County

(1992)

American Institute of Architects - Regional/Urban Design Assistance Team

The AIA's R/UDAT program helps communities to develop visions for better futures and to implement strategies that produce results. The AIA is a professional association representing more than 70,000 architects nationally. The R/UDAT program is administered by professional staff and a task group of volunteer AIA members with extensive R/UDAT experience. For more information on the American Institute of Architects, visit www.aia.org.

The Center City Association

The Center City Association supports the creation of an aesthetically pleasing downtown center that serves as the hub of civic, business, cultural and recreational life in the Springfield/Clark County community. The Association is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation that supports the re-development of the Center City, which is comprised of approximately 70 downtown city blocks.