Lyndhurst Year in Review | 2018

2013-2018

The Georgia downtown

Renaissance Partnership

2018

year in review

Lyndhurst foundation supported projects McCaysville, Georgia Copperhill, Tennessee Ducktown, Tennessee Trenton, Georgia Chickamauga, Georgia Lookout Mountain,Georgia & Tennessee

What’s our purpose?

Founded in 2013, the Georgia Downtown Renaissance Partnership works to foster vibrant downtowns throughout Georgia through community engagement and implementation of citizen-defined planning visions for partner communities. The partnership recognizes that downtowns serve as the heart and soul of community life in cities across the state and provide the engines that drive local economies. Our mission is providing cities with the customized planning and design assistance necessary to help ensure economically vibrant, community-focused downtowns.

year in review 2013-2018

The Georgia downtown

Renaissance Partnership

What has partnering through the Lyndhurst Foundation enabled?

Since partnering with the Lyndhurst Foundation in 2015, foundation support has enabled the Georgia Downtown Renaissance Partnership to expand our commitment to improve and revitalize Northwest Georgia and Tennessee cities included in the metropolitan Chattanooga region. Over the course of this renewed partnership, the Lyndhurst Foundation has empowered communities and improved the region through engaging in planning and design projects in McCaysville, Copperhill, Ducktown, Trenton, Chickamauga, Chatsworth, Rossville, Ringgold, Lookout Mountain, and unincorporated Murray County. In addition to undertaking new masterplanning efforts and conducting a 12-week fellowship, over the course of this year, students, faculty, and staff at the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government built on the successes of previous Lyndhurst-supported projects by continuing relationships with the partner communities of Chickamauga and Lookout Mountain. The four components of the Georgia Downtown Renaissance Partnership supported by the Lyndhurst Foundation in 2018 include:

1 | The Renaissance Strategic Vision and Plan (RSVP) masterplanning process: • City of McCaysville, City of Copperhill, and City of Ducktown

2 | The Georgia Downtown Renaissance Fellowship: • City of Trenton

3 | The Georgia Downtown Renaissance Partnership Landscape Architecture Studio: • City of Chickamauga, City of Lookout Mountain (Georgia), City of Lookout Mountain (Tennessee)

4 | Targeted Technical Assistance for Local Communities: • City of Chickamauga

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year in review

Our Partners Georgia DowntoWN Renaissance Partners Lyndhurst Foundation Thrive Regional Partnership Georgia Cities Foundation Georgia Municipal Association University of Georgia Carl Vinson Institute of Government College of Environment and Design (CED)

2018 Organizations Fannin County Chamber of Commerce Tri-Cities Business Association Office of House Speaker David Ralston, Georgia House of Representatives Fannin County Development Authority Fannin County Parks and Recreation Southeast Tennessee Development District United States Department of Agriculture, Tennessee Field Office Appalachian Regional Commission Georgia Department of Transportation Dade Historic Preservation Committee Ragan-Smith Associates CTI Engineers, Inc. Phillips|Creasey

2018 University of Georgia Faculty and Staff Danny Bivins, Senior Public Service Associate, Principal Investigator Kaitlin Messich, Public Service Assistant, Senior Designer T. Clark Stancil, Landscape and Urban Designer Dan Shinkle, Landscape and Urban Designer Allison Cape, Graphic Designer Karen DeVivo, Editor Doug Pardue, Assistant Professor

2018 University of Georgia Graduate and Undergraduate Students Arianne Wolfe, Downtown Renaissance Fellow, Master of Landscape Architecture Robert Hines, Graduate Assistant, Master of Public Administration Rachael Shields, Graduate Assistant, Master of Landscape Architecture Elizabeth Solomon, Graduate Assistant, Master of Landscape Architecture Varad Dabke, Student Intern

2018

by the numbers

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year in review

5

uga graduate assistants

1 undergraduate intern

ced Students in the 2018 Fall Semester

Graduate Landscape Architecture Studio

ced Students in the 2019 Spring 14 Undergraduate Urban Design Studio Course

604

Community Surveys Completed as part of Copper Basin Renaissance Strategic Vision and Plan

which is

31.6%

of ducktown, copperhill, & m c caysville combined total population

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year in review

The Copper Basin

year in review

m c caysville | copperhill |ducktown

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year in review

Project Brief program: The Renaissance Strategic Vision & Plan (RSVP)

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n 2018, the Lyndhurst Foundation supported the first multi-city, bi-state Renaissance

Strategic Vision and Plan in the Copper Basin communities of McCaysville, Copperhill, and Ducktown. Bound by a common history and mining heritage, citizens and local leaders across these communities combined forces to support a shared vision for this unique community. Following a long decline of mining and related manufacturing in the Copper Basin, industrious local citizens in the Copper Basin have been slowly redefining their community.

Now with an economy built primarily around outdoor and regional tourism, citizens from across the Copper Basin, regional stakeholders, and elected officials came together around the Copper Basin RSVP as a way to reshape and coalesce around a shared vision for this unique place.

With the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway and Tennessee Overhill Railroad terminating in the heart of McCaysville and Copperhill, business and activity in the community have grown and often cater to seasonal visitors. In 2018-2019, thirteen new businesses are planned to open in downtown McCaysville and Copperhill, including three restaurants and two breweries.

year in review

The Copper Basin Masterplan developed for downtown McCaysville and Copperhill incorporates proposed GDOT changes and helps unite these communities with recommended streetscape improvements, plantings, and more.

With the help of a variety of grants and sustained effort by local leaders, new streetscaping is underway in Ducktown and the city recently welcomed a prominent downtown restaurant in addition to more potential activity downtown.

While growth has begun to arrive in the community, the small local municipal governments in the Copper Basin are significantly under-resourced. Without the assistance of the Lyndhurst Foundation, bringing three small governments together for a comprehensive, community-driven plan at this critical time would be impossible. While locals recognize that the economy in the community has changed, they do not desire a future that leaves behind the community’s rich history and heritage or that forces out locals in favor of newer, wealthier residents or visitors. Following an extensive public engagement process with representatives the community settled on four key priorities to be addressed in the Copper Basin RSVP.

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10 year in review

“Initiatives like this combine private-sector resources with public-sector expertise to revitalize downtowns to generate economic activity and create jobs. I am excited about the potential of this project, particularly when we are investing in McCaysville and the surrounding area with more than half a million dollars in state funding for streetscapes and (McCaysville) City Park as well as the ongoing work on widening Highway 5.”

– Georgia House Speaker David Ralston

By addressing these four priorities: connectivity, community branding, creating a local destination, and short term “Get er Done” implementation projects, local leaders will begin building the vision of the future desired by community members. To help address these community priorities, Institute of Government planners and designers developed a unique and comprehensive branding program uniting all towns and cities in the Copper Basin. By recognizing this community’s rich history, the brand developed as part of the Lyndhurst-supported Copper Basin RSVP builds on the past to inform a vibrant new future for the region.

Over the course of the RSVP process, Institute of Government faculty and staff collaborated with local community groups as well as outside groups and regional stakeholders in order to incorporate new and planned improvements into the final document. With a long-planned GDOT truck route in the works, Institute of Government planners worked to incorporate GDOT plans while making existing downtown streets in McCaysville safer, more attractive, and inviting for pedestrians. Institute of Government planners also worked with the Tri-Cities Business Association and the Fannin County Parks and Recreation department to develop designs and assist with grant funding requests for specific community improvements.

year in review

lyndhurst funding & description: The development of a RSVP document for a selected partner city within the tristate metropolitan Chattanooga region

(Total annual cost: $55,000)

Ken Rush at the Ducktown Basin Museum provides an overview of the local copper mining history to UGA faculty and staff and Fannin County Chamber representatives.

community partners Fannin County Chamber of Commerce, Fannin County Development Authority, Fannin County Parks and Recreation, Southeast Tennessee Development District, USDA Tennessee, Appalachian Regional Commission, Georgia Department of Transportation Copper Basin RSVP Steering Committee •Zachary Welch, Chair, McCaysville Revitalization Committee •Jan Hackett, Fannin County Chamber of Commerce •Spiro Amburn, Office of House Speaker David Ralston •Christie Arp, Fannin County Development Authority •Marilyn MacNeill, McCaysville Revitalization Committee •Sue Beaver, McCaysville City Council •Ken Rush, Ducktown Basin Museum •Glenn Harbison, The News Observer (Copperhill Resident) •Carol Thomas, City of Copperhill

Student Involvement: •Robert Hines, Rachael Shields, and Elizabeth Solomon, Graduate Assistants

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12 year in review

“All we have to do, really, is embrace what we have and work together to figure out how we can best tell our story.�

- Jan Hackett, Fannin County Chamber of Commerce President

The community brand created for the Copper Basin could be incorporated into many unique platforms, including personalized Moscow Mule cups for downtown restaurants and arrival signage at the train station that includes a map of downtown McCaysville and Copperhill.

Results

year in review

E

ven prior to publication, the 2018 Copper Basin RSVP has already begun to galvanize momentum and influence positive changes in the Copper Basin. The Fannin County

Chamber and Tri-Cities Business Association have begun incorporating unique branding materials developed for the community by Institute of Government designers. These groups will also be utilizing and distributing a map of downtown McCaysville and Copperhill merchants and attractions. McCaysville has also purchased new benches for downtown and worked to improve a walkway along the Toccoa River leading to the McCaysville Welcome Center.

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14 year in review

Trenton, Georgia

year in review

the georgia downtown renaissance fellowship

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16 year in review

The 1926 Dade County Courthouse shines in this historical postcard image.

Project Brief program: The Georgia Downtown Renaissance Fellowship

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ith support from the Lyndhurst Foundation, Georgia Downtown Renaissance Fellow Arianne Wolfe worked with officials in the City of Trenton to develop design solu-

tions for community-identified project areas. The concepts developed by Wolfe were further supported by designs produced by the design and planning staff and faculty at the Institute of Government. Areas of focus included restoring Trenton’s historic Dade County Courthouse, improving the downtown streetscape, and building sidewalks and trails to connect the community. Proposals for improvements in these three areas built upon years of planning and effort by the local government, outside professionals like Ragan-Smith Associates, and active members of the local community. With these priorities identified, Wolfe and Institute of Government planners and designers began collaborating with local officials and community members to create a planning document envisioning the future of Trenton. Generously funded by the Lyndhurst Foundation, the design solutions showcased in the 2018 report outline a vision of the quality of life improvements proposed by local leaders to ensure a vibrant, active, and prosperous future for the community.

year in review

Lyndhurst Funding & Description: Completion of a 12-week Renaissance Fellowship resulting in a targeted plan for a selected community in the Thrive Regional Partnership region

(Total annual cost: $20,000)

community partners J. Alex Case, Mayor | Ted M. Rumley, Dade County Executive | William Back, Dade County Economic Development Director | Peter Cervelli, Former Dade County Economic Development Director | Don Townsend, Dade County CFO and Clerk | Rex Blevins, Historic Preservation Commission | Sarah Moore, Historic Preservation Commission | Donna Street, Historic Preservation Commission | Audrey Clark, Historic Preservation Commission | Cindy Richie, Historic Preservation Commission | Steve Bontekoe, Conservationist Jamison Griffin, President, Scenic Dade | Amy Garrett, Board Member, Scenic Dade | Ashleigh Garmany, Board Member, Scenic Dade | Terry Reynolds, Ragan-Smith Associates, Senior Planner/Senior Designer

Student Involvement: •Arianne Wolfe, Downtown Renaissance Fellow •Robert Hines, Graduate Assistant

Shown at work in the studio, Arianne Wolfe served as a Downtown Renaissance Fellow for the City of Trenton.

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18 year in review

Results

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inal plans were delivered to the city in December 2018. Institute of Government faculty plan to formally present the Trenton plan to city leaders in February 2019. While the defeat of the Dade

County Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (TSPLOST) referendum eliminated funding for streetscaping improvements downtown, some progress has been made on rehabilitation of the historic Dade County Courthouse. While scaled down due to budget constraints, plans produced by the fellowship will continue to inform design decisions as funding becomes available.

proposed

year in review

before Long underutilized, community members envision an attractive event space on the top floor of Trenton’s historic Dade County Courthouse.

Local preservationists and others worked with Institute of Government Senior Designer Kaitlin Messich to develop design concepts for the interior of the historic Dade County Courthouse.

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20 year in review

Fall Semester Graduate Landscape Architecture Studio Course

year in review

Chickamauga, georgia lookout mountain, georgia lookout mountain, tennessee

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22 year in review

after

Following a busy day of installation, trailhead markers, symbolic posts, and custom signage welcome visitors at the Lyndhurst-funded Wilder Road Trailhead at the Chickamauga Battlefield Connector Trail. Student-produced designs artfully welcome exploration and reflect the context and character of the community.

Project Brief

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orking from designs developed by graduate students in the 2018 Lyndhurst-supported fall semester Landscape Architecture Studio, Institute of Government faculty and staff

collaborated with private engineers and contractors at CTI Engineers and Phillips|Creasey to fully implement designs for two trailheads at the new Chickamauga Battlefield Connector Trail.

The student-designed trailhead utilizes inexpensive, readily available materials to commemorate the unique history of this community and memorialize the 125,000 forces involved and 34,624 casualties at the Battle of Chickamauga. Envisioned as the first stretch of a 2.5 mile trail connection between downtown Chickamauga and the Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park, construction for the multiuse trail began in October between Osburn Street and Wilder Road, northeast of town. Designs produced during the studio course and follow-up design by Institute of Government faculty and staff — including logos, signage, and other branding materials — provide a template for future designs along this transformational trail.

year in review

Drawing on the Partnership’s existing relationship with the 2017 Downtown Fellowship community of Lookout Mountain, the 2018 Lyndhurst-supported Landscape Architecture Studio worked with local officials in the cities of Lookout Mountain, Georgia and Lookout Mountain, Tennessee to propose a variety of connectivity improvements that leverage expanding mobility systems in order to increase the efficacy, diversity, and accessibility of the community. As part of the semester-long course, students engaged with both Lookout Mountain cities to better understand and inform the concepts developed for the community. In order to address issues posed by connectivity and realize opportunities discussed by local leaders, students worked to develop a variety of unique “typologies� of policy, program, and physical designs. These strategies include both short-term and long-term design strategies at a variety of scales, from regional and community policies and programs to experiential and physical designs.

Utilizing existing and proposed trails, this plan draws on the 2017 Lookout Mountain Downtown Renaissance Fellowship to set the course for an exciting and newly connected future for this unique community.

This rendering shows the Chickamauga trailhead map signs that were proposed.

proposed

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24 year in review

Graduate students from the Landscape Architecture Studio Course participate in a critique with Philip Schofield, Bruz Clark, and Micheal Haney.

Lyndhurst Funding & Description In 2018, the Lyndhurst Foundation supported a graduate level Landscape Architecture Studio Class lead by College of Environment and Design professor Doug Pardue with support from Institute of Government faculty. The Lyndhurst Foundation provided $15,000 to support the class, the instructor, printing, and travel costs. In addition, the Lyndhurst Foundation provided $5,000 for implementation of lean urbanism projects, which included the cost of installation and materials for two trailheads and wayfinding signage for Chickamauga’s Chickamauga Battlefield Connector Trail. In addition to supporting the development and installation of two trailheads and signage, implementation funds were also used for travel expenses and promotional materials for the trail including branded hats and bumper stickers.

year in review

Graduate students, Institute of Government designers, and Lyndhurst Foundation president Bruz Clark during the installation of Chickamauga Battlefield Connector Trail signage in December 2018. Left to Right: T. Clark Stancil, Jacob Schindler, Dan Shinkle, Keeley McDonald, Bruz Clark, Rachael Shields

Results Students worked with Institute faculty and staff to design and install trailheads at the Chickamauga Battlefield Connector Trail. Created by students, trailhead markers and symbolic posts were installed by Phillips|Creasey contractors in December, with final signage installation by a contingent of students and UGA faculty on December 17, 2018.

As of December, students were unable to finalize designs for Lookout Mountain.

Beginning in January 2019, the ambitious proposals developed by students will be carried over into Pardue’s spring Urban Design studio where students will continue to build on designs produced for Lookout Mountain.

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26 year in review

Professor Pardue reviews a GIS analysis with students Zongyeng Peng and Zitao Chi in a studio critique.

Fall Graduate Student Involvement: Rachael Shields (Student Project Manager), Kelsey Brooks, Zitao Cui, Matt Dean, Chenlu Li, Mary Mathis, Keeley McDonald, Zongying Peng, Lucy Robertson, Jacob Schindler, Erika Schroeder, Yakun Wang

Spring Undergraduate Student Involvement: Alexandra Armstrong, Sydonne Blake, Carolyn Bresnahan, Jordan Fraser, Triston Hayman, Hunter Kim, Graham Powell, Jonathan Qualls, Nathan Rhineheimer, Xiao Tan, Christian Tew, Ailin Yang, Liangwei Yu, Zhexin Yu

Community Partners City of Chickamauga

Walker County

•Micheal Haney, City Manager

Kleenco Construction

•Evitte Parrish, Councilmember

CTI Engineers, Inc.

City of Lookout Mountain, Georgia •David Bennett, Mayor •Jimmy Campbell, Resident

•Philip R. Schofield Phillips|Creasey •Scott Broussard

year in review “We began the semester of our graduate landscape architecture studio with [the] design of a trail to connect the city of Chickamauga to the National Military Park. With a small budget, we were challenged to use resources wisely, and each design decision was enacted with a precise purpose. The challenge continued when we moved to the primary portion of the studio where we were charged with the goal of providing connectivity to the cities of Lookout Mountain. Students aimed to unite the two cities and provide improved flow of circulation on and off the mountain.”

Student

Profile

“Through both projects, this studio combined real world community improvement of connectivity and unity with the approach of an academic environment.”

- Graduate assistant Rachael shields

Rachael shields student: Rachael Shields, Graduate Assistant, Masters of Landscape Architecture, 2019 hometown: Fennville, Michigan BAckground: The University of Georgia College of Environment and Design, Master of Landscape Architecture, 2019 The University of Cincinnati, Bachelor of Science in Architecture, 2016

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28 year in review

This playful signage concept, developed for the 2016 Chickamauga RSVP, became the basis for a sign developed for the city in 2018.

Project Brief program: Chickamauga Targeted Technical Assistance

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n addition to the planning and installation of two trailheads and signage at the Chickamauga Battlefield Connector Trail in 2018, Lyndhurst funds supported

the implementation of selected designs for the City of Chickamauga. Institute of Government faculty and staff assisted the Chickamauga with developing wayfinding signage and a children’s photo cutout sign at Crawfish Springs Park.

community partners City of Chickamauga •Micheal Haney, City Manager •Evitte Parrish, Councilmember

year in review

Results

In 2018, Institute of Government faculty and staff worked with Chickamauga to finalize plans for a children’s photo cut out at Crawfish Springs. The sign mock-up shown was provided by A1 Signs and is planned for installation in downtown Chickamauga.

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30 year in review

District Hill

Landscape Plan Update

year in review

Chickamauga, Georgia

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32 year in review

Created by the 2017 Landscape Architecture Studio at the College of Environment and Design, the District Hill Cemetery Masterplan provides a roadmap to the sensitive restoration of this special resting place.

Project Brief

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n 2017, the Lyndhurst-supported Landscape Architecture Studio at the College of Environment and Design developed a master plan for the historic African-American

District Hill Cemetery in Chickamauga. Located just outside downtown Chickamauga, this pastoral resting place has been tended by landowners Joyce and Tom Harrison and their family for generations. In 2017, ten graduate students at the College of Environment and Design began working with the Harrisons and local community members to develop a long term vision for this sensitive site. The Harrisons worked with students to create a plan for the cemetery which would celebrate and acknowledge the people buried at District Hill. They desired a site that was more accessible and that identified the 125 known but unmarked graves, allowing the opportunity for interpretation. Designs that could be implemented with minimal funding and maintenance requirements were imperative. Compiled into a final planning document by student project managers Arianne Wolfe and Devyn Quick, the artful, sensitive, and approachable designs provided a moving tribute to the complex histories of those interred in this special place.

year in review “This project would not have been possible without the cooperation and support of many community members in Chickamauga. We are especially grateful to Joyce and Tom Harrison, for whom this project holds particular significance, and who showed us great kindness throughout the project. The Harrisons hosted the class on site visits, organized community meetings for us, taught us the history of this place and their family, and were always available to answer questions…

We are extremely grateful to the Lyndhurst Foundation for supporting this

important project and to the members of the class who gave so much of their time and creative energy to make this project a reality.”

-Acknowledgments from District Hill Cemetery Masterplan, 2017

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34 year in review

Former Downtown Renaissance Fellow Arianne Wolfe and Devyn Quick enjoy a moment on the awards stage.

Results

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ollowing delivery of the final plan to the Harrisons and community members in March 2018, the Harrison family has continued their active stewardship of the cemetery. The

Harrisons have distributed plans to community leaders and potential funders, including members of the Frank Pierce Foundation. After viewing plans for the site, the Frank Pierce Foundation committed $30,000 to restoration efforts at the cemetery. After completing and delivering the final plan to the community, Wolfe worked to further develop a proposal and submit the plan to the American Society of Landscape Architecture student awards. In August 2018, representatives of this prestigious national body announced that the District Hill Cemetery Masterplan had been awarded a 2018 ASLA Honor Award.

In October 2018, representatives of the Institute of Government, College of Environment and Design, and student project managers Wolfe and Quick traveled to Philadelphia for the formal awards presentation at the 2018 American Society of Landscape Architects Annual Meeting and Expo.

year in review

“[The District Hill Cemetery MasterPlan] was a document that very clearly explained to a community the role of a landscape architect in historic preservation and commemoration.�

-2018 ASLA Awards Jury

In October 2018, the student produced District Hill Cemetery Masterplan was honored by the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) as an outstanding student project. Current and former UGA students, CED faculty, and Institute of Government staff are pictured at this presentation of the plan at the ASLA Annual Meeting in Philadelphia.

Left to Right: T. Clark Stancil, Devyn Quick, CED Assistant Dean David Spooner, Arianne Wolfe, Nate Dittman, Lauren Boyd, Dan Shinkle

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