In the wake of a recent boom in Stamford's downtown development, Regional Plan Association has been hired by the Downtown Special Services District (DSS) and the city's Urban Redevelopment Commission (URC) to update the vision for downtown to establish the framework for a future rezoning. This cooperative effort between city groups comes seven years after RPA and Phillips Preiss Shapiro Associates consulted the city on its 2002 Plan of Conservation and Development. The plan focused on the city's downtown as a key to its continued economic success and, while many of the concepts for the urban core were realized, the zoning was never updated in accordance with this plan. RPA, the DSSD, the URC, and other city stakeholders hope that the study will result in regulations that provide more transparency and clarity for downtown development. Further, the new vision for Stamford's city center will incorporate issues not considered in the last master plan such as climate change and sustainability. As RPA Vice President David Kooris said, "Stamford's downtown has achieved great success over the past decades and this effort will lay the foundation for the next generation of sustainable growth."
RPA's Connecticut office is located in downtown Stamford and several of our employees live there.
Read the Stamford Advocate's coverage of the initiative here.
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