Sample Municipal Land Use and Master Plan Projects
Bedford Master Plan Update
Bedford, New Hampshire
Working with a large engineering and planning firm, RKG is completing the economic development chapter of the Town’s master plan. RKG Associates had drafted the 1990 and 2000 master plans. Current RKG’s findings show that Bedford’s economic strategy will need to have both a short-term and long-term focus. The short-term focus will concentrate on existing business retention and economic rebound as it begins to unfold. Long-term considerations will include insuring that properly zoned land, infra-structure, and workforce are adequate to support sustained development in the future.
military base expansion impacts
Petersburg, Virginia
In late 2006, RKG Associates, Inc. was retained by the Crater Planning District Commission to analyze the growth-related impacts associated with the 2005 BRAC decision to make Fort Lee a Sustainment Center of Excellence. The creation of the Center of Excellence will increase the number of military personnel, students, civilian and contractor employees and dependents by 15,300 between 2007 and 2011. RKG analyzed impacts to regional schools, healthcare, daycare, and housing markets. RKG then prepared annual forecasts to project future demographic and economic impacts associated with Fort Lee’s expansion and helped prepare a transition plan for the municipalities and the region..
downtown master plan
Lewiston, Maine
This mill city of 35,000 persons is home to Bates College and MBNA, and serves as a regional medical center for south central Maine. However, the closing of the Bates Mill complex had left the City and the downtown with a large void in its economic engine and tax base. Since the completion of the master plan prepared by RKG Associates, the City of Lewis-ton has hired a Downtown Development Manager to oversee implementation. The former opera house and adjacent properties were acquired and developed into a new Courthouse and downtown pedestrian plaza. New downtown rezoning has been passed by the City Council and planning is under-way to add a 250+ parking structure to the downtown. Significant new investment has also occurred within vacant buildings for new office usage.
airport financial analysis
Rochester, New Hampshire
Located in Rochester, Skyhaven Airport is a general aviation (GA) facility with a 4,001-foot runway which is also the only airport owned and operated by the State of New Hampshire. Under State legislation, the City of Rochester had an option to acquire the facility and retained RKG to analyze the financial feasibility and market conditions relative to the municipality potentially owning and operating the airport. RKG developed a financial model to analyze the airport’s likely revenues and expenditures over the next fifteen years. The results of the analysis indicated the air-port would cost the City between $200,000 and $700,000 over the next fifteen years. After much debate, the City Council voted not to acquire the airport and the state will continue to operate it under the jurisdiction of the Pease Development Authority.