VILLAGE OF HEMPSTEAD DOWNTOWN REVITALIZATION
strategic planning / public realm planning / urban design
Location / Village of Hempstead, Long Island, New York
Client / Community Development Agency (CDA)
Status / Completed
Collaborators / AKRF
Surface parking, derelict properties and high vacancies currently dominate the Village of Hempstead Downtown, making it a ‘pass-through’ area rather than a destination. MUD Workshop along with the CDA and AKRF Inc. developed a vision plan to kick start revitalization efforts. This includes repositioning publicly owned sites for community development by creating opportunities for mixed income housing, assisted living and infrastructure. Additionally, it focuses on connecting existing cultural, historic and transportation assets within the village through a careful consideration of density distribution and coordinated capital and public realm improvements on major corridors.
In response to recent large and small developments and investments, the vision plan creates four sub-areas; Downtown Core, Health and Community Facilities Hub, TOD Zone and Innovation District. These overlapping sub-zones seek to concentrate interdependent uses and programs for each sub-area within walking distance. As revitalization efforts progress, these will eventually create smaller walkable neighborhoods with distinct identities within a larger Downtown area