Clarksville, Indiana

CLARKSV I LLE , INDI ANA consultants that we hired calculated that we have somewhere close to three million square feet of retail area in our community, with the majority of it in that 3C Master Plan area,” he explains. “And, of course, if you have three million square feet of retail, then you have associated acres and acres of unstructured, flat, single-story parking lots. So, part of the retooling of that area is how do we keep the stores open, temporarily relocate others, and then turn this into more of a true urbanism-style development and get rid of the seas of asphalt and concrete, while retaining the retailers so that they are not hindered or hampered or have to close? Right now, you can go for almost one-quarter of a mile in one direction and never have a cross street. So, we’re looking at developing a whole new street grid and within that grid will be traditional blocks with two and three-story development that will put retail and professional office on the first and second floors and then residential on the third. On several blocks, we will mix it with redevelopment in the changing landscape of retail and commercial properties by trying to understand what the next 20 years will look like. We’re asking the community what they would like to see us plan for the future of the lands and property that have become heavily encumbered with retail and commercial development today. Some of the sites are in very good condition, but they do not meet the standard we would like to see from an economic resiliency standpoint, as we plan to insulate our community to withstand major shifts in the retail sector. Such shifts would greatly reduce our tax base and our ability to continue to provide the quality public services that we currently do. In this case, the 3C Master Plan is trying to understand the basis of what makes a successful retail corridor, today, while taking an active role as a municipality to assist it in a long-term transition to become a much more resilient, thriving, and active commercial core.” Town Manager, Kevin Baity, elaborates: “The