The Architectural Partners (AP) team, including the nationally respected Dover, Kohl & Partners (DK&P), were selected to create a comprehensive Master Plan for the heart of Lynchburg, including the city’s first major shopping center, The Pittman Plaza. The idea for the plan was to reintroduce the urban grid to the Plaza’s current sea of abandoned parking lots, and create four revitalized neighborhood development principal of five minute radius of walkability.
Community involvement was an essential component in creating a workable vision and plan for the future of Midtown Lynchburg. “Designing in Public,” the Dover Kohl team conducted an open planning process to identify the ideas, needs and concerns of the community. Participants helped to create the Midtown Master Plan through an intensive design event. Over the course of seven days, the community and the team of design professionals worked to design the plan.
At the conclusion of the week-long design process, the Dover Kohl design team departed Lynchburg and returned home to their offices. Over a period of six weeks, and in collaboration with AP and other team members, an illustrative master plan produced during the charrette was refined and a report created. The plan documents were then submitted for City and community review. The report represents a synthesis of desires and goals for the future of Midtown within a workable framework of specific implementation measures.