DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK Overview An overall development framework will help prioritize investments throughout Downtown
In order to create a seamless urban experience, Downtown’s many smaller neighborhoods should to be linked into larger development districts. The unique attributes and defining differences between the Warehouse District and the Flats, Playhouse Square and Gateway, other adjacent areas will still be preserved and celebrated. But the experience of Downtown from the perspective of residents and visitors needs to feel more continuous and connected. For example, in a better-connected Downtown, tourists will feel comfortable staying in a Flats East Bank hotel, walking to the Warehouse District for dinner, and catching a trolley to a performance in Playhouse House Square. Residents throughout Downtown should feel equally connected to the Malls and Public Square and treat these amenities as part of “their” neighborhood. These connections need to be natural and intuitive. Perceived barriers between districts must be addressed. A simplified development framework of Downtown East, Downtown West, and Downtown Core, with Downtown also extending north to the Lakefront and east to encompass the Campus District will make Downtown more legible and easy to navigate. This will better enable new development projects to complement, rather than compete with existing assets so Downtown as a whole moves forward into a new and more sustainable investment cycle. The evolution of a downtown development framework is diagrammed on the following pages.
23