During a Tuesday morning meeting of Downtown Business Inc., Freese and Nichols – an engineering, urban planning, and architecture firm to develop a new Master Downtown Plan – shared their recommendations on how to assist the City of Brownwood to further enhance the revitalization efforts in the downtown district during a presentation at the Lyric Theatre.
The purpose of the Downtown Master Plan is to update and expand on the vision and successes of the prior Downtown Master Plan from 2002-03. Specific focus will be put on the public investments that the City could or should undertake on their end to support a vibrant future for Downtown Brownwood.
Freese and Nichols has received feedback from the community over the past few months through a series of surveys, with top concerns listed as follows:
- Opportunity in vacant properties
- More engagement for kids
- Create an official Cultural Arts District
- Needed sidewalk improvements
- More green space and pocket parks, with seating and shade
- A way to celebrate more of the HPU adjacency
- Shopping and dining as the primary activities
- People recognize/appreciate the recent growth and development
- Desire for more family-friendly entertainment and outdoor spaces
- Enhancement to buildings was the top priority
Based on the aforementioned suggestions, and conversations with City of Brownwood, Freese and Nichols came up with the following vision statement for the impending new Downtown Master Plan:
“Downtown Brownwood will be a place of pride for the community, offering opportunities and spaces for all residents and visitors to participate in community life. It will provide a unique experience through its historic buildings and local businesses that cannot be found anywhere else in the world.”
Preliminary goals for the new plan, according to Freese and Nichols, are:
- Offer a great variety of activities for uses, including families, students, and people who want to spend time Downtown without spending a lot of money
- Support local small and unique businesses in locating and staying in Downtown and generate an atmosphere that allows them to thrive
- Facilitate growth in Downtown in such a way that contributes to existing synergies and strengthens its historic character
- Invest in the public realm and open spaces so they reflect the community’s pride and are in and of themselves a reason to visit Downtown
- Address vacant buildings and underutilized lots to fill in the spaces between the major Downtown destinations.
Other objectives included dividing Downtown in five districts/zones, along with Howard Payne University:
- Downtown Core
- Historic District
- Transition Zone
- Convention and Events District
- Supporting Area
Four historic redevelopment opportunities were also identified:
- Montgomery Ward
- Brownwood Manor
- DeBusk Building
- Brownwood Hotel
Freese and Nichols welcomed additional feedback from those in attendance following Tuesday morning’s presentation, and was set to meet with the Brownwood City Council later Tuesday.
After receiving feedback, Freese and Nichols will draft a plan over the last quarter of 2023 to present to the Brownwood City Council for adoption in late December or early January 2024.