UPTOWN TIF INVESTMENT IN NORMAL, ILLINOIS IS PAYING OFF
PGAV Director, Mike Weber, was featured in the Bloomington Pantagraph newspaper.
After a presentation to the Normal City Council on September 3rd, Weber answered questions about the TIF’s performance.
CHILLICOTHE’s SILVER MOON PLAZA WINS MISSOURI aMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION’S GREAT PLACES AWARD
The Downtown Revitalization and Economic Assistance for Missouri (DREAM) Initiative was a 10-year program that provided 39 Missouri communities with access to the technical and financial assistance to develop a Downtown Strategic Plan.
As Missouri’s downtowns already represent large investments for communities, the DREAM Initiative built upon those investments to leverage existing public resources, attracting more than a 2:1 ratio of new private investment as well as significant job creation. Using an extensive market analysis, community engagement process, and design components, the DREAM Initiative helped to re-establish the sense of place and cultural heritage in the historic heart of Missouri communities.
As a part of the process for Chillicothe, Missouri, PGAV designed Silver Moon Plaza as a gathering place for residents and visitors. The formerly vacant site was eventually developed and now serves as a community center in Chillicothe’s downtown.
PGAV Launches Tourism-Focused Community Engagement Project in Asheville, NC
The Asheville Convention and Visitor's Bureau has hired PGAV to research and develop a list of priorities to better manage tourism and plan investments for the next decade, balancing the city’s tourism growth with the needs of local residents. PGAV is honored and excited to assist Asheville and the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority with this important step in the evolution of their vibrant tourism economy.
The project represents a unique partnership between PGAV’s Planners and Destinations groups, drawing on the tourism design experience of the Destinations group and the financial expertise and community engagement experience of the Planners team.
SkyTour shuttle system to open in Grafton this spring
PGAV Planners assisted the City of Grafton with a development finance incentive package to make this project a reality. Incentives included TIF funding, and the establishment of an Illinois Business District that utilizes business district sales taxes from the various Aeries businesses located with the boundaries of the Business District.
Branson aquarium project gets final approval
The Branson Board of Aldermen has given final approval to the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) request for the Aquarium at the Boardwalk project. Designed by PGAV Destinations, the 46,000 square-foot aquarium will be located along Highway 76 in Branson, Missouri.
PGAV Planners collaborated with City Staff, Lauber Municipal Law, Armstrong Teasdale, Springstead, and Kuvera to make this project happen.
A ground breaking for the project was held on February, 27th with a planned completion in 2020.
SAVE-THE-DATE - Illinois Tax Increment Financing Conference, April 24-26, 2019
PGAV Planners is excited to again sponsor the Illinois Tax Increment Association Conference! This year, the event is being held at the Hyatt Place Bloomington-Normal from April 24-26th. Save the date!
Jenny ryan receives community planning champion award from american planning association - stl Metro chapter
PGAV Planners’ Project Manager Jenny Ryan received the Community Planning Champion Award from the STL Metro Section of the American Planning Association at their October Luncheon.
Jenny was honored for her distinguished leadership and exceptional efforts to advance our communities, places, and people. The Community Planning Champion Award acknowledges the impactful contributions to our community through actions, talents, and commitments. PGAV Planners is so proud of Jenny’s contributions to the planning profession and the communities we serve!
PGAV to present at 2018 Bi-State American Planning Association Conference in Kansas City
The 2018 APA Bi-State Conference is a gathering of professional planners and planning officials across the Midwest. The 2018 conference takes place October 24-26 at the InterContinental on the Plaza in Kansas City. A group of more than 350 individuals, including professional planners, planning officials, lawyers, architects and developers, are expected to attend.
Join PGAV on October 26th for their session on Trail-Oriented Development!
TRAIL-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT: CREATING PLACES FOR PEOPLE & ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION
October 26th - 9:30-10:30am
Presented by PGAV Planners, City of Crestwood and Trailnet.
As trail networks become priorities for American cities, developers are responding to increased interest from communities by building projects adjacent to pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure. This development pattern, 'trail-oriented development', leverages investments in bicycling and pedestrian infrastructure to offer more physically active and environmentally sustainable transportation choices. Similar to its public transportation counterpart, transit-oriented development, trail-oriented development offers a new opportunity for cities to leverage large mobility investments for adjacent developments, strengthening municipal finances, and improved livability. By strategically aligning a communities zoning and bike/ped design standards, communities and trail riders can enjoy the benefits of people-friendly design.
The session will outline the land use practices and active transportation design standards to consider when encouraging Trail-Oriented Development. St.Louis' PGAV Planners and Trailnet will talk about their recent work along Grants Trail in the City of Crestwood, Missouri. Additionally, presenters will discuss zoning recommendations and tactical urbanism tools that can be used to communicate the value of land use and trail-oriented development to the community.
For more information, visit the Conference Website: https://www.apabistate.com/.
CITYSTUDIOSTL FELLOW KAETY PRENTICE CREATES VIBRANT STREETSCAPE DESIGN FOR GRAND CORRIDOR
PGAV Planners is excited to welcome Kaety Prentice as the second CityStudioSTL summer fellow. Kaety is currently studying for her master’s of architecture degree at Washington University in St. Louis. She has been hard at work all summer with the Planners group to design a corridor plan on South Grand Boulevard between Utah and Chippewa. Her corridor plan will be used by community development organizations as they continue their revitalization efforts in Dutchtown, Gravois Park, and Benton Park West.
Vandalia begins a road map for the future with pgav planners
The City of Vandalia, IL began work on their comprehensive plan with PGAV Planners. The community with support from the Gateway Association of Realtors is examining ways to continue the revitalization of their downtown and plan for future growth of the home of Illinois' oldest capital building.
PGAV Planners Unveils New 3D GIS Tool
PGAV Planners has developed a solution for displaying community information in a 3-D, interactive GIS product in which the user can view buildings, terrain, and parcel-level data. Interacting with the data on a new level helps us get to the whole story. An example of this work can be found here. Please contact us to learn more. We’d be happy to help you use this technology to tell your community’s story.
The City is using the Kearney Street Corridor Study from PGAV to create a redevelopment plan for the former Route 66 bypass.
Illinois Comptroller appoints Mike Weber to the Local Government Advisory Board
Mike has served on the board for the previous two Illinois Comptrollers - Judy Baar Topinka and Leslie Geissler Munger. Mike also contributed to a Legal Brief on Tax Increment Financing in the October issue of the Illinois Municipal Review.
WELCOME TO OUR CITYSTUDIOSTL FELLOW CASEY RYAN!
PGAV Planners is excited to welcome Casey Ryan as the first CityStudioSTL summer fellow. Casey is currently studying for her master’s of architecture degree at Washington University in St. Louis. Throughout her master’s studies, she has become interested in public engagement, social impact, and urban design. Casey will be working with Planners to design a plan for Chouteau Park in the Grove neighborhood, and she is very excited to learn more about urban planning and to implement social impact design principles on a real project.
A leader in economic development studies for around the county, Andy will guide the firm’s marketing and business development efforts and develop strategies for expanding PGAV Planners’ national footprint in his new role.
PGAV Planners conducts national search for THE COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT AGENCY in memphis
The Agency is seeking applicants who can operate and manage complex redevelopment activities and identify opportunities for new redevelopment areas. This brochure provides the requirements for the ideal candidate.
Memphis AND Shelby County Community Redevelopment Agency Seek Executive Director
PGAV will assist Memphis in searching for a new director for the agency responsible for planning redevelopment projects in the Uptown TIF districts. Read the article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
WASHINGTON MO APPROVES NEW DEVELOPMENT CODES
PGAV recently updated the zoning code for Washington, MO. The code ordinance was approved in August and repealed many old chapters and adopted new provisions relating to zoning, subdivisions, signs and parking requirements, among other things. Sal Maniaci, city planner, explained that zoning districts were amended and the codes now include a zoning matrix table to easily reference permitted uses in each district. “It is clear what needs to be submitted, before developers may have been guessing, where now we don’t send plans back and forth,” he noted. “It will be a quicker approval process.”
POLLINATOR PARKLET AT NEW PARTNERS FOR SMART GROWTH CONFERENCE
PGAV in partnership with SWT, Urban Harvest STL, PlaceMatters, and Knox College created a Pollinator Parklet for the 2017 New Partners for Smart Growth Conference. Parklets are small urban parks often created by replacing parking spots with ideas to increase communal and vegetated space. Our parklet included a greenhouse, native pollinator plants, and a bike-powered smoothie machine.