C a s e S t u d y

A strategic plan for redeveloping
Veliko Turnovo's former military school

Summary

The Vasil Levski Higher Military School occupied one of the most prominent locations in downtown Veliko Turnovo for many decades. Since the school's closure in the 1980s, the municipality has struggled with a number of redevelopment plans and proposals for this important site. The Strategic Plan for Property Disposition completed through this project results from the ongoing partnership efforts of the municipality of Veliko Turnovo and the city of Golden, Colorado.

The project's main task is the completion and approval of a development plan for the former military school (FMS), with an emphasis on more effective use and disposition of the prop erty to enhance the economic vitality of the community. The partnership sought to develop a plan that would respect and support community goals for the property, yet be achievable given the limited amount of municipal resources available and the uncertainty of market demands for new residential and commercial development.

A team of licensed Bulgarian architects is nearing completion of a detailed Development Regulation Plan (DRP), which will lead directly to implementation of the first phases of the property disposi tion and redevelopment project.

Problem Statement

At the start of this partnership project in mid-2000, the municipality of Veliko Turnovo was grappling with issues similar to those of many Bulgarian cities. However, in addition to gen eral government programs and the implementation of a traditional privatization program for smaller parcels, Veliko Turnovo was also faced with the challenge of determining the most desirable and achievable redevelopment plan for a very large parcel adjacent to the downtown area. For nearly 20 years, the community had discussed proposals for redevelopment of the parcel, with most of those proposals heavily directed and funded by the local government. By 2000, it was clear that a new approach was necessary to secure the economic and community benefits desired from the property.

While the property's proximity to transportation networks and the river is very favorable, the greatest opportunities related to the redevelopment of the FMS property are based upon its premier location in the downtown area. The development pattern in Veliko Turnovo in the past several decades appears to have been based upon expansion of single-use neighbor hoods on the periphery of the urban core, including residential blocks and industrial areas. The FMS property provides an opportunity to encourage investment in the downtown core to strengthen the social and economic fabric of the entire city. Veliko Turnovo's strategic development plan should carefully consider future land uses to ensure the quality of future development. If designed correctly, the plan will also benefit the municipality financially through sales of land and increased future tax revenue.

Besides location, the other significant factor of the FMS project is the size of the parcel. At approximately 187,000 square meters, the parcel is truly large enough to contain a mixture of uses that will enhance the vitality of the downtown area and promote Veliko Turnovo's economic goals.

Project Description

In working on the FMS project, the partners from Golden offered their experience in develop ment and redevelopment of properties for housing, commerce, and recreation in their city. The recommendations developed during the project resulted from a detailed analysis of all relevant available information. The analysis included the following steps:

n Review of the current legal framework for local planning in Bulgaria.

n Review of the detailed planning specifications document provided by the municipality and prepared by consultants from Sofia.

n Development of overall project goals.

n Analysis of site opportunities and constraints and preparation of the overall development concept.

n Development of alternative infrastructure and land use options.

n Review of alternatives and refinement of two to three alternatives.

n Preparation of a final concept to be recommended.

n Preparation of phasing and implementation recommendations.

Following the initial analysis of information provided on the project, the partners recom mended the following goals for the FMS redevelopment project, which were further dis cussed at the public hearing held in December 2001:

n The FMS site should be used more efficiently to enhance the economic vitality of the community.

n The use of the FMS site should be compatible with its location and surrounding uses.

n The development of the FMS site should emphasize the views of the property from surrounding neighborhoods and of the surrounding neighborhoods from the property.

n The Yantra River should be more integrated into the urban design of the city and specifically of the FMS site.

n The more significant historic structures and elements on the site should be preserved to maintain the historic character of the area where feasible.

n The development of the western and northern perimeter of the FMS site should be compatible in scale and use to the neighborhoods to the west and north.

n The development of the FMS property should include a mix of land uses, development types, and building styles as appropriate for the specific portion of the property.

n The development of the FMS property and vehicular access systems should include "traffic calming" designs to lessen congestion on adjacent streets and provide for pedestrian safety so as to invite pedestrian activity.

During the analysis, the partners identified a few significant constraints that affect the DRP for the FMS property:

n The development plan must optimize the existing infrastructure of the site. Although some of the infrastructure may not be incorporated into the redevelopment plan, optimal use of existing infrastructure is appropriate for both fiscal impact and phasing purposes.

n The land uses identified for the property must be able to accommodate a phasing schedule that will likely occur over a number of years. Whenever possible, the boundaries between land use areas should occur along streets or public greenways to accommodate phasing.

n Because of the long implementation period, certain elements of the plan must be flexible enough to accommodate market forces. The plan must identify which elements are fixed and which are flexible. In most cases the plan must specify general land uses and quality of design, but can approach the details more flexibly.

n The plan should not require significant public investments up front. The land use and phasing should provide for the funding of infrastructure investments as income is received from the initial phases.

n The infrastructure must be affordable for the municipality. Expensive solutions to traffic circulation must be considered carefully so as to preserve the financial feasibility of a market-based plan.

The first phase of the project culminated in the activities of the week of December 3, 2001. During this week, the partners sought to substantially increase awareness of the redevelopment project among the general public, nongovernmental organizations, local architects, and the municipal council. In addition, the mayor sought to inform the municipal council and public of his intent to proceed with a contract for a DRP in January 2002.

Following the public presentations and discussions of conceptual development plans, the second step was the signing of a contract on January 14, 2002. Architect N. Nikiforov is leading the team that is developing a detailed Development Regulation Plan for the FMS territory pursuant to Regulation 5, Rules and Norms for Territorial and Town Planning, and will present his team's plan to the municipal council and the public.

Implementation Timeline

The project timeline for this project included the following steps:

n Preparation and discussion of the project analysis and conceptual development plans occurred from January through October 2001.

n In November 2001, the municipality made preparations for a comprehensive citizen outreach program featuring public discussions and a public hearing the week of December 3, 2001. The preparations included a citizen survey, displays in city hall, media attention, and a radio simulcast of the public hearing on December 6, 2001.

n On December 6, 2001, municipal staff presented two conceptual plans for public discussion in Veliko Turnovo's city hall. One plan included the recommendations of the team of Golden and Veliko Turnovo, while the other plan incorporated ideas developed in the partnership but also included ideas of the architectural team from Sofia.

n On January 14, 2002, the municipality finalized the contract with the architectural team for the DRP.

n The DRP is scheduled to be completed by June 2002. The team will present the DRP to the municipal council and citizens of Veliko Turnovo by the end of June 2002.

n Veliko Turnovo expects to begin implementation of the DRP in mid-2002.

Solutions Overview

The partnership project resulted in a number of innovations that will increase the success of the redevelopment of the FMS property, for example:

n The project stakeholders widely discussed market-driven land use planning, resulting in plans that are flexible enough to accommodate the uncertainties of timing and economics.

n The community participation techniques that the municipality implemented greatly increased community awareness of the project and support for moving forward with the next stages.

Benefits

n The project had the following benefits:

n The implementation of a large-scale project has progressed more than it would have without the partnership.

n The development plan is helping to identify investment opportunities for redevelopment of the FMS site.

n The development plan is expected to assist in attracting appropriate investors.

n The development plan has provided closer contact between the municipal government and the local community.

n The effort to date has reduced expenditures from the municipal budget by using the technical expertise of both teams.

Conclusion

Veliko Turnovo and Golden's joint project to prepare the Strategic Plan for the former military school was very successful. The discussion and evaluation of this project can be a useful model for other municipalities.