Laserfiche WebLink
V. Vision for a Town Center <br />Before we begin, the obvious question needs to be posed: "What is a Town Cente <br />The project team asked this question (or variations of it) to process participants <br />received a variety of answers. Not all of them made the connection to the Town <br />North area. <br />Which begs two other questions: "Is the Town Center North area really the town cent <br />Isles Beach? And if not, does Sunny Isles Beach have a town center at all?" Chara <br />functions and features of town centers helps to answer these questions, in a rounda <br />In general, a "town cent&,' is a central place that people from throughout a commun <br />to and be in for a variety of purposes: to shop, dine, work, jog in the park, visit a libr <br />or a concert, or just enjoy being in an animated, social public place. Town centers ar <br />multi -use and, according to the Urban Land Institute, they are "organized around a <br />energized public realm where people can gather and strengthen their community It _.._._. <br />Many older communities have well-established centers which have evolved organically over time. Increasingly, <br />newer communities which lack a historic core are focused on shaping favorable conditions for the development <br />of such mixed-use, pedestrian -scaled central hubs to take on the "town center" role. <br />When the City of Sunny Isles Beach incorporated, the community did not have a traditional, identifiable town <br />center or historic "main street" But the area that encompasses the TCNO acted as a hub even then, to the <br />extent that the first "City Hail" office operated from a Town Center location. The district is centrally located and, <br />today, even more lively with restaurants, services, offices, and traffic from nearby residents as well as visitors <br />(OW from other parts of the City and beyond. <br />But the area currently lacks many essential elements identified as key to successful town centers. What do the <br />people of Sunny Isles Beach want to see there? <br />Integrated <br />/L1 Mix of Uses <br />o �o-1 Connectivity <br />�0 <br />Emphasis on <br />__ Pedestrian <br />Mobility <br />&� Quality <br />Z�M Architecture <br />g Central <br />o Gathering <br />�3 Q spaces <br />_ Quality <br />Urban <br />—�---� Design <br />Memorable <br />and Enduring <br />s� Strang Civic <br />a� <br />ee Q� e Identity <br />Essential Elements of a Town Center <br />re -Envisioning the Town Center North Overlay 112128/2020 75 <br />