Town Branch Commons

On Wednesday, May 1st, the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) will host a public presentation regarding Town Branch Commons at the Downtown Art Center, 141 East Main Street at 5:00 pm.   The DDA requested proposals last year for a conceptual design to bring Town Branch to the surface.  Scape/Landscape Architecture had the winning proposal and is in the process of creating a detailed master plan, including preliminary cost figures and how this project fits with the other downtown development projects.

The proposal has been praised for its understanding of the natural karst hydrology of the region, and for its proposal to transform Town Branch into a water filtration system.  The plan divides Town Branch into four sections and includes a network of pools, fountains, rain gardens, pocket parks, and marshes.  Each of the four sections could be implemented independently and they could be implemented in any order.  The plan was also judged the most doable since the Government already owns most of the land and it disrupts traffic patterns the least.  You can read some excellent articles about this project here, here, and here.

I hope you can take advantage of the opportunity to review the plans.