Pullman Begins Taking Next Steps On Downtown Revitalization
Posted on 07/26/2021
Reposted from City of Pullman Website. See original post here.
PULLMAN, WA – In advance of the Pullman City Council adopting Goals & Priorities, Pullman City Staff has begun taking steps towards a comprehensive downtown revitalization project.
On June 4, 2019 the Pullman City Council executed a professional services agreement with BDS Planning and Urban Design to prepare a Draft Downtown Business District Master Plan. More than 100 community leaders and volunteers participated in the planning process. On February 26, 2020 BDS presented the draft document to the City Council.
Less than a month later the COVID-19 Pandemic struck the community, and the draft document was moved down the priority list while health and financial issues took precedence. Now that the community is turning the corner on recovery and additional federal funding has been made available to the City, the draft document has been returned to its previous position of priority.
The Pullman Planning Commission will be finishing their review of the overall Draft City Comprehensive Plan in August and turning their attention to the Draft Downtown Business District Master Plan in September. The Pullman City Council is expected to hold a Public Hearing on the draft document in October.
In the interim, City Staff is working on several projects to identify budgets, timelines, and assistance required from state partners – most notably the Department of Transportation. Plans are being made to hold public meetings to both discuss the impacts on local stakeholders and inform the community.
Although it is very early in the process, the community may notice some temporary activity to help prepare for the future permanent project. One such example is addressing an existing operational and maintenance issue at the High Street Plaza. The City transplanted several softscape plants to other areas of town, removed additional softscapes to open up the view into the plaza to assist the imagining process already identified on pages 65-69 of the draft document. This small area adjacent to Main Street will receive a temporary installation to maintain continuity, aesthetics, and safety until a permanent solution is properly identified.
