Keeping the Character of Downtown Vicksburg
At the heart of the Village is downtown Vicksburg; a traditional downtown with small businesses, restaurants, active sidewalks, and community events. The Village was committed to maintaining and expanding the traditional character of their downtown in response to increasing demand for activity in downtown Vicksburg.
By identifying existing market demand, and targeting desired markets, McKenna was able to work with the Downtown Development authority to develop a downtown framework plan. The framework plan included public improvements to the streetscape and open spaces, parking lots, wayfinding, and strategic connections between downtown Vicksburg and surrounding recreational resources. The framework plan also identified opportunities for private redevelopment of existing under-utilized properties.
The key to the success of the plans was to ensure that both public and private improvements were consistent with the traditional character of Vicksburg and to provide opportunities for meaningful social interaction in public places. To achieve this McKenna conducted a tour of downtown Vicksburg to identify special spaces and opportunities for connections and casual interactions. McKenna also conducted a visioning session for stakeholders that featured a visual preference survey allowing participants to rate images of improvements they felt were most appropriate for downtown Vicksburg.
The result was a plan that featured specific recommendations for streetscape and public space improvements and opportunities for new mixed use developments within the core of downtown Vicksburg. The Plan served as the basis for several grants for both public and private development projects.