:: urban COLLAGE + Neighborhoods & Districts ::

Community-based planning is the foundation of the firm’s work. From revitalization efforts for historic neighborhoods & housing developments to new planned communities to dynamic mixed-use districts, our work creates sustainable plans for diverse housing, commercial, open space and institutions within walkable neighborhoods and districts.

Capitol/Grady
Since 2003, Urban Collage has managed and collaborated on the creation of redevelopment plans for the former Capitol Homes and Grady Homes public housing communities in Downtown Atlanta. Work included redevelopment concepts, site planning, grant applications and coordination of public/private partnerships for implementation. The two projects are part of larger revitalization efforts for the historic Sweet Auburn neighborhood and Memorial Drive. Re-establishing the street grid, integrating new buildings into the adjacent neighborhood and restoring the vitality of existing open spaces are all priorities for knitting these communities back into the City fabric.

Rosewood Hills- Former Hendley Homes Site
In 2003, the Columbia (SC) Housing Authority retained Urban Collage to produce a market-based development plan for the demolished Hendley Homes public housing complex, with an emphasis on extensive and inclusive public involvement to rally the adjoining neighborhoods around a new vision for the distressed area. The plan for the 20-acre site south of downtown Columbia includes new housing, open space and infrastructure improvements. In 2003 the project was awarded $10.5 million in federal HOPE VI funds.

Grady Bioscience
Urban Collage assisted Central Atlanta Progress and a Grady Bioscience Taskforce comprised of Grady Hospital, several of the Atlanta’s institutions of higher educational and a variety of downtown stakeholders to develop a feasibility study to determine the potential for development of a bioscience district in Downtown Atlanta. The study analyzed existing physical conditions, reviewed development strategies utilized by other bioscience districts throughout the U.S. and outlined a collective vision and organizational strategy for enhancing and attracting bioscience development in the downtown area.

Belmont Area Revitalization Plan
Urban Collage, Inc. directed the preparation of a redevelopment plan for housing rehabilitation and construction, open space, public improvements and economic development for the Belmont neighborhood in Charlotte, North Carolina. The study included new open space and institutions, redevelopment of the Piedmont Courts housing community and new compatible infill development.

Cuyler-Brownsville
Urban Collage, Inc. prepared a master site plan, design guidelines, architectural prototypes (single-family) and a comprehensive development program for 47 acres within the historic neighborhood. Urban Collage also prepared schematic designs (floor plans and elevations) for several compatible infill housing prototypes in a range of sizes and styles. Over 50 homes have been constructed in addition to improvements to a neighborhood park.

Nicholtown
The City of Greenville, SC and the Greenville Housing Authority focused on a long-range master plan for the revitalization of the Nicholtown neighborhood and the Jesse Jackson Townhomes. Urban Collage, Inc. worked with the City, GHA and community stakeholders to develop a strategic action plan consistent with the community’s vision. This redevelopment project, including a large central greenway, Jesse Jackson Townhomes, new mixed use on Pleasantburg Drive and infill development, is "the largest revitalization project in city history” according to the Greenville News.

Campbell Terrace and Delona Gardens Redevelopment Plan

Urban Collage recently developed a 2006 HOPE VI plan for the communities of Campbell Terrace and Delona Gardens in Fayetteville, North Carolina. The project included a variety of development considerations including adaptive re-use, community gardens and orchards, senior housing, townhomes, single family homes, existing institution/educational structures and several additional areas under city ownership in the Old Wilmington Road neighborhood.

Sweet Auburn
As an outgrowth of the Imagine Downtown development plan, Urban Collage was given the task of updating the 1994 Redevelopment Plan for Butler-Auburn. The firm has a long-standing relationship with the neighborhood and an intimate knowledge of the issues facing this most historic of districts, the ‘Sweet Auburn’ of John Wesley Dobbs and Martin Luther King Jr. The Butler-Auburn Update focuses on thirteen catalytic projects to combine economic development with historic preservation in a detailed package that includes project proformas and three-dimensional visualization, along with recommended zoning modifications to the outdated MLK Landmark District.