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The goal of Capital District Project is to reestablish downtown Topeka as a family-oriented, economically sound, culturally vital and visually attractive regional destination–the center and symbol of Topeka and Shawnee County.
We plan to do this by addressing many of the issues that are commonly perceived as keeping downtown from becoming a vibrant center of our community such as:
- Attracting additional businesses and strengthening existing businesses
- Construction challenges such as sidewalk closures and maintaining business access and viability
- Parking issues and easy access to businesses
- Traffic flow and patterns
- Entertainment and public art
While this project is much more than a simple street scape change, we’re starting here because the City plans to repave Kansas Avenue next year anyway. Making changes in conjunction with this resurfacing project gives us the opportunity to save thousands of dollars later when modifications are needed to improve parking and traffic flow.
To be successful, we need your input! Here are four things you can do right now to help us make this your downtown:
1. “Like” the Capital District Project Facebook Page. We’ve seen how BIG things can happen when the Topeka community unites in support for a project–let’s do it now for downtown Topeka.
2. E-mail the City Council. Take a moment to email each member of our City Council and tell them in your own words, in a couple sentences, why you support investing in downtown Topeka. Ask them to support reinvestment now.
3. Tell us what you’d like to see downtown. Post your ideas on the Capital District Project Facebook Wall or in the Discussion section. We are looking for your opinions and input!
4. Tell your friends. Post it as a status update, tweet it, chat about it or send them an e-mail. Make sure your friends know we need their support to get Topeka’s downtown revitalized!
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The site is looking great! Hopefully we can get some true collaboration between the CapDist team and the community!
Thanks, Marc! That’s exactly what we’re hoping for! This website will serve as a primary vehicle for getting everyone’s ideas, opinions and thoughts out there. Look for additional content and ways to interact coming soon!
Alissa
I and eight other from Topeka will be attending a conference in Oklahoma City on downtown redevelopment being put on by the International Economic Development Council (http://www.iedconline.org/HowYouBuildIt/index.html). Sessions at the conference are:
What’s Ahead in Sports Facilities
Feasibility: Is the Idea Viable for the Community?
Going Green: Building Sustainable Projects for Tomorrow
What’s Ahead in Sports Facilities
Feasibility: Is the Idea Viable for the Community?
Going Green: Building Sustainable Projects for Tomorrow
Meeting Community Demand through Performing Arts Centers & Cultural Facilities
Financing: Where the Money Is
Leveraging Smaller Projects for Big Impacts
Importing Visitors to Your Community: Trends in Conference and Convention Centers and Hotels
Partnerships: Who are the New Partners?
Waterfronts: Natural Destinations for Communities
Creating Destination Downtowns
Design: From Mind to Model: Working with a Design Team
Next Stop: Transit-Oriented Development
Restaurants, Bars and Entertainment: New Destination Developments
Support: Building Public Support for the Project
Distressed Neighborhoods: Reinventing Older Assets for New Uses
Just like the above list, the Capital District Project is about a lot of things. Redoing the streets is nice but it’s what makes people want to be there that will make the difference. The effort right now is to get a project that allows as many people in the community to be involved in deciding what our downtown will be. And then doing it.
It’s Topeka’s Time
Several attendees will be live tweeting from sessions, and there will be blog posts summarizing all of the things we've learned. If you want to follow the live tweeting, watch for updates from @AlissaSheley and @BrendanJensen.
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