The City of Canton has been selected by the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) to receive $104,000 for a Downtown Master Plan and Market Analysis. The purpose of the Master Plan and Market Analysis is to help identify and fund programs, initiatives, and further planning to create a more commercially, residentially and culturally robust downtown district.
Updated comprehensive planning for downtown Canton is a necessity for us to collectively identify solutions for a more desirable, livable, and prosperous downtown. These solutions include everything from pinpointing the types of businesses we need and want in the Central Business District (CBD), to addressing cultural needs, appropriate restaurant and retail additions, housing priorities, and strategies to encourage a healthier lifestyle for citizens. The funding comes from ARC’s Livable Centers Initiative Program. The City of Canton has agreed to a 30% match ($26,000). Funded by federal transportation dollars, the LCI program has helped revitalize numerous metro Atlanta communities.
According to ARC’s website, “The Livable Centers Initiative (LCI) is a program that awards planning grants on a competitive basis to local governments and nonprofit organizations to prepare and implement plans for the enhancement of existing centers and corridors consistent with regional development policies, and also provides transportation infrastructure funding for projects identified in the LCI plans!”
In Canton, we should be pretty familiar with the LCI program. We received our very first LCI grant in 2000 which resulted in the River Mill LCI Study. The results of this study were several transportation improvement projects such as the Hickory Flat Road Streetscape, Waleska Street Streetscape, Railroad Street Streetscape, Marietta Road Streetscape, the Main Street Pedestrian Connector, and additionally the River Mill LCI Enterprise Zone.
We are now fortunate to have the opportunity to trigger another round of recommendations and projects that will spur economic activity and build on our ever-improving quality of life. Local planning of this magnitude requires public input. That means we will need citizen involvement for creating the Downtown Master Plan. If you live or do business in Canton, we will need your input.
There will be much more to come about this exciting project and I, again, encourage you and everyone who lives in Canton to take part and ownership of this comprehensive planning effort. As for the timeline, the Mayor and City Council will select a consulting firm to lead the project in July. The selected firm will begin working in earnest in August and the planning effort will commence.
The final result of the River Mill LCI Master Plan Update will be a Downtown Canton Master Plan and Market Analysis. A layout of community goals in implementable steps for us to create the downtown we want and shape its future.
to your business!