The Crossroads: Developing A Unique Town Center Identity

レポートの概要：The sponsor of the TAP is West Whiteland Township, a 13-square-mile community in Chester County. Its roughly 19,000 residents have predominantly educated professionals with a median household income of $110,000. Outside of the Town Center District, more than 70% of residents own their homes, and half are two-car households. Within the Town Center District, new apartment buildings and condominiums fill quickly. The Town Center District is home to thirty significant historic sites, some dating back to the 18th century. In some cases, the Township has been able to adaptively reuse these landmark structures for commercial purposes or move them to accommodate retail expansion. The Town Center District is also home to several parks and green spaces that serve as buffers between the busy commercial area and nearby residential neighborhoods, and the Chester Valley Trail is a stone’s throw from the Crossroads. Community concern for the future of this area led Township officials to engage the TAP. They asked the panel to consider the following: The Crossroads is already a growing, thriving area with multiple assets, as highlighted in the Township logo: retail activity, transit options, recreation, and history. How do we leverage these assets to make a coherent, defined community with a sense of place that is more than the sum of its parts? What actions can the Township take to manage growth and promote the character of the Crossroads without overwhelming or destroying it? Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic and the coincident surge in equity activism, we realized that evolving trends in lifestyle, work habits, retail, and transportation would affect the Town Center. How will these new factors affect our community? How do we leverage all of these trends to advance the qualities that are important to the community?