Town Center SuPurb
LCI Study and Action Plan
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Prepared for: Town Center Area Community Improvement District
Prepared by: ARCADIS G&M, Inc. 2849 Paces Ferry Road Suite 400 Atlanta Georgia 30339 Tel 770 431 8666 Fax 770 435 2666
In association with Urban Collage, jon Benson + associates, and Robert Charles Lesser and Company
Our Ref.: GA063463.0001/Rpt 1948
Date: November 30, 2004
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1. Introduction 1
1.1 LCI Program Facts 2
1.2 Study Goals 3
1.3 The SuPurb Study Area 3
1.4 Planning Process 4
1.5 Project Team 5
1.6 Plan Description 5
2. The SuPurb Today 6
2.1 Economic/Demographic Overview 6
2.1.1 Core Analysis and the Favored Quarter 6
2.1.2 Evolution of Retail Cores 8
2.1.3 Going Forward 9
2.1.4 Current Employment Situation 11
2.1.5 Demographic Overview 13
2.1.6 Jobs to Housing Balance 16
2.2 Land Use Analysis 18
2.2.1 Office Market Overview 19
2.2.2 Retail Market Overview 21
2.2.3 For-Sale Residential Market Overview 24
2.2.4 Rental Apartment Market Overview 26
2.3 Zoning 26
2.4 Transportation 27
2.4.1 Roadways 27
2.4.2 Traffic Analysis 28
2.4.3 Bicycle and Pedestrian Facilities 29
2.4.4 Transit 30
2.4.5 Parking 31
2.5 Urban Form 32
2.6 Issues and Opportunities 33
2.6.1 Community Involvement 33
2.6.2 Development Opportunities 35
2.7 Policy and Implementation Framework 37
2.7.1 Cobb County 37
2.7.2 Cobb Chamber of Commerce 37
2.7.3 Georgia Regional Transportation Authority 38
2.7.4 Kennesaw State University 38
2.7.5 TCA CID/CobbRides 38
3. Defining SuPurb 39
3.1 Determining Design Preferences 39
3.2 Determining Goals and Objectives 39
3.3 Creating Development Scenarios 40
3.3.1 Proposed BRT Station Area 42
3.3.2 Proposed Town Center Mall Redevelopment Area 42
3.3.3 Streetscape Elements 43
3.4 Market Support 44
3.5 The Framework Plan 46
3.5.1 Focus Areas 47
4. Getting to SuPurb 51
4.1 Policies 51
4.1.1 Regulatory Framework 52
4.1.2 Character 54
4.2 Transportation 55
4.2.1 Traffic/Roadways 56
4.2.2 Multimobility 57
4.2.3 Parking 58
4.3 Partnerships 58
4.4 Priority Projects 59
4.5 Population and Employment Estimates 60
4.6 Action Plan 60
Tables
1 Overview of Firm Responsibilities
2 Land Uses Within the Study Area
3 Development Scenario Comparisons
4 Potential Build-Out Estimates for Development Areas
5 Population and Employment Projections 2000 Ð 2030
6 Action Plan
Figures
1 Study Area
2 AtlantaÕs Favored Quarter and Metro Cores
3 Employment Mix, Town Center Area and Atlanta Region
4 Household Income Distribution
5 Educational Attainment
6 Roundtrip Commute Times
7 Relationship of Employment to Households
8 Preferred Retail
9 Types of Housing to Increase Likelihood of Living in the SuPurb
10 Existing Land Use
11 Zoning
12 Transportation
13 Urban Form
14 Development Opportunities
15 Framework Plan
16 Town Center Concept
17 BRT Station Area Concept
16 Zoning Recommendations
17 Proposed Transportation Improvements
Appendix
A Public Involvement
The Town Center Area (TCA), situated around interstates 75 and 575, is an attractive location for commercial and office establishments, as well as residential development. Because of its enviable location and the unprecedented growth in population and economic markets in metropolitan Atlanta, this area serves as an activity center for most of northwestern Cobb County, as well as Marietta, Kennesaw, and southern Cherokee County, and as a regional activity center for the Atlanta metropolitan area.
The rapid growth occurring in this area, although desired, has caused increasing problems with congestion, mobility, and accessibility due to development patterns required by existing policies and regulations. To combat these issues, the TCA Community Improvement District (CID) initiated a master planning process for the entire CID, resulting in a plan called the RoadMap. The RoadMap is a strategic plan that integrates transportation, land use, market conditions, and implementation guidelines for the entire TCA CID. As part of this study, a traffic analysis, a land use survey, and an economic analysis were conducted. This information, combined with an assessment of perceptions regarding current issues and opportunities for land use, transportation, and future development, led to the development of a problem definition with clear goals and objectives and a preferred land use scenario for the TCA. The preferred land use scenario identified a ÒcoreÓ area where new development and redevelopment are most likely to occur within the CID. The following guidelines were established for this area:
n The Big Shanty Road extension will act as a spur to development for the surrounding land, which currently lacks good access. Further, this development should be concentrated around a transportation hub/station, should allow HOV access, and should be developed with higher-density mixed uses.
n Development should be concentrated around intra-market transit.
n A village-type environment should be created to connect Town Center Mall to Chastain Parkway and Kennesaw State University.
n Infill areas throughout the CID should be considered for a mixture of residential uses.
n A hotel/conference center should be located near transit and the creek.
n The Town Center Mall area should be developed as a Òcentral business districtÓ with decked parking, offices, hotels, and very high-density residential (50 units per acre).
n The subdivision on Big Shanty Road should be redeveloped as a mixed-use development, with an emphasis on high-density residential.
What neither the preferred land use scenario nor the RoadMap was able to do was identify the measures needed to create the village environment connecting the core area with the surrounding area, especially Kennesaw State University with multimodal accessibility, concentrated development, and varied housing opportunities.
In the face of increased pressure for development characteristic of the surrounding area, rather than what the preferred land use scenario designated for the core area, the TCA CID requested and received a Livable Centers Initiative (LCI) grant to create a master plan, supported with a detailed action plan for the core area.
The LCI program funds planning studies for local jurisdictions to develop transportation-efficient land use plans that promote development and redevelopment and increase transportation in activity and town centers. The Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) has further committed $350 million to implement transportation projects and programs resulting from these efforts.
LCI grant recipients must develop a study that demonstrates: