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<br /> <br />E July 28, 2009 <br />8 <br /> <br />Mr. John Joern <br />Assistant City Manager <br />Mr. Tim Tietjens <br />Planning Director <br />City of La Porte <br />604 West Fairmont Parkway <br />La Porte, Texas 77571 <br /> <br />Re: Downtown Plan, Code and Sylvan Beach Implementation Initiative <br /> <br />V-' <br />~ <br />v' <br />~ Dear Messrs. Joerns and Tietjens: <br /> <br />Ln <br />7 <br />N <br />rl <br />If) <br /> <br />We appreciated the opportunity to serve on the Avalanche Consulting Team for the Economic <br />Development Plan. Knowing that a vital downtown is a center piece of the new economic <br />development strategy, we are proposing a downtown planning initiative as requested. This <br />initiative includes harnessing the redevelopment of Sylvan Beach by leveraging the County's park <br />strategy, as well as activating and connecting the key corridors identified in the initial economic <br />development plan to link not only historic Main Street but also the retail opportunities down <br />Fairmont and across the highway to the west. <br /> <br />N <br />o <br /> <br />'-D <br />f'. <br />.,1 <br />r::l <br />X <br />U <br />I- <br /> <br />t:: <br /> <br />We propose in this implementation initiative to not only develop a detailed building and block <br />plan to pull together the development opportunities for a walkable mixed use downtown; but <br />also to once again reactivate Sylvan Beach as a regional draw fully integrated into downtown and <br />not just as an isolated recreation park. The key will be to translate a detailed mixed use plan <br />into a prioritized capital program through the utilization of a new form-based code and an <br />infrastructure phasing program. The detailed scope and budget below sets forth the tasks to <br />accomplish this work plan. <br /> <br />o <br />LL. <br />'-D <br />o <br />'-D <br /> <br />() <br />== <br /> <br />'JI <br /> <br />u <br />> <br /><C <br /> <br />Jon Hockenyos of TXP will remain involved with this new phase of work. His involvement will <br />facilitate the translation of this implementation initiative back into the ED Plan. This will enable <br />the most efficient use of the City's fiscal capacity for needed infrastructure improvements to <br />implement the downtown plan. <br /> <br />== <br />E <br /> <br />r <br />C <br /> <br />'JI <br /> <br />rl <br />o <br /> <br />You and your colleagues are familiar with me, but you are not with the remainder of our <br />planning team that will join the effort: <br /> <br />Jay Narayana, Senior Planner-Jay joined Gateway Planning after serving as chief planner for <br />South lake, Texas. There, she oversaw the second phase development of Town Square, one of <br />the most successful new downtowns anchored by retail and a new city hall. With her MBA in <br />real estate, Jay also understands the critical needs of project investment as phasing and use <br />evolution are considered to position downtown environments for sustained investment. <br /> <br />Milosav, Cekic, Senior Urban Designer-a Fulbright Scholar, former Chairman of the <br />Austin Design Commission, UT Faculty Member and former Town Architect from Nis, Serbia, <br />Milosav served for more than 20 years as the architect of record for the San Antonio Shoe <br />(SAS) Company. His retail experience in urban design and architecture as well as his urban park <br />planning has made him invaluable to the Gateway Planning design process. He is practical yet <br />creative in integrating entertainment, parks and urban living. <br /> <br />www.gatewayplanning.com <br />