New Plan Focuses On Vibrant Downtown
Heritage Fund (HFBC) announces that a community-based strategic development planning process for the Columbus downtown will be launched in February 2018. HFBC’s Governance and Planning Committee, which consists of city officials and business and community leaders, will provide oversight of this process, including a substantial public input component.
This planning effort is made possible through a grant from The Cummins Foundation to HFBC, which will cover the costs of working with DAVID RUBIN Land Collective, a landscape architecture and urban design firm based in Philadelphia. David Rubin, principal of Land Collective, and his team were chosen for the project via a proposal and interview process involving four invited firms. A number of individuals from the community, including city officials, made the final selection and informed Cummins of their choice.
“This is the same process the community has followed in selecting architects for many of our treasured public facilities such as Mill Race Park, several fire stations and schools, as well as The Commons. We are so grateful for Cummins’ interest in keeping our downtown a place people want to be,” said Tracy Souza, HFBC president and CEO.
“Since 1954, The Cummins Foundation has been privileged to serve as a community collaborator, partner and facilitator as the City of Columbus has charted a path of excellence through successful stages of growth and development. Our ability to attract and retain the best and brightest employees to our headquarters location is directly linked to the continued success of this journey,” said Norbert Nusterer, Vice President Cummins Inc. and President, Power Systems Business. “We are excited and honored to contribute yet again as the community updates its roadmap towards an even more vibrant and economically viable downtown that serves an increasingly diverse set of city residents and visitors.”
This work will culminate in an updated strategic development plan for the downtown that will be used for many years to come. It will build upon and replace the current plan, which was completed in 2004 by Development Concepts Inc.
“We know that we can make great things happen when we work together to develop a vision and an implementation plan. It has happened time and time again with successful results. Focus 2000 and Vision 2020 are great examples of public-private partnerships that bring together citizens and city to enable investment, resulting in a downtown of which we can be proud,” said Mayor Jim Lienhoop.
DAVID RUBIN Land Collective has worked with the Indianapolis Museum of Art on its recent comprehensive master plan (along with Beyer Blinder Belle), and on several projects for Cummins, including the Distribution Headquarters in Indianapolis, and currently on the landscape redesign of the Cummins Corporate Office Building in Columbus. David Rubin’s approach of empathy-driven design and engagement of the individual experience have become hallmarks of his firm. It is the firm’s ability to “lead a complex design process while providing creative opportunities to engage broad and inclusive community input throughout the project that made this group’s presentation stand out and ultimately led the committee to select DAVID RUBIN Land Collective,” said Rick Johnson, committee chair for this effort.
The DAVID RUBIN Land Collective team is a collaboration of firms including HR&A, an economic consulting firm for real estate, development, program design and implementation; Nelson\Nygaard for mobility, accessibility and sustainability; and Beyer Blinder Belle for issues of Architecture and Heritage/Preservation. Nelson\Nygaard previously has worked in Columbus consulting with the city’s parking implementation committee. The team also includes cost estimators from The Hagerman Group of Fishers, IN, and web designers Impart Creative, a Philadelphia based design studio.
About Heritage Fund
Heritage Fund – The Community Foundation of Bartholomew County was formed as a community foundation in 1976 with the purpose of continuing a legacy of giving by providing an opportunity for all citizens to make gifts and establish charitable funds to benefit the local community. It was created primarily to: provide responsible stewardship of gifts donated for broad charitable purposes; promote leadership to address community issues; serve as a catalyst for positive change in partnership with others; and promote philanthropy broadly within the community.