Concepts Review: Build the Vision

In this step, the City’s consultant team works to develop and test a broad range of bold, creative and credible concepts that address the 4 downtown themes of Land Use, Mobility, Parking, and Urban Design. While avoiding formulaic solutions, the actions accomplished during this step involve:

  • Fostering a prosperous and coherent retail core in downtown, a downtown parking strategy and opportunities for multi-family housing development.
  • Creating pedestrian, bicycle, and automobile circulation and streetscape improvement concepts that link downtown with adjacent neighborhoods and attractors such as the waterfront, Skamania Lodge, Columbia Gorge Interpretative Center, County fairgrounds and Hegewald Center.
  • Strengthening and embracing amenities, public gathering spaces and waterfront recreational areas.
  • Ensuring new development is well integrated with and supports downtown street improvements, the waterfront and the future park plaza.