Village of Westbury Downtown Revitalization Initative
BJH was the project manager and prime consultant for the State of New York, managing a multi-disciplinary team that developed a Downtown Revitalization Strategic Action Plan for the Village of Westbury in Nassau County, Long Island. The Downtown Revitalization Initiative is a $100 million initiative of Governor Andrew Cuomo which provided 10 towns throughout New York State with $10 million in downtown revitalization funds. Westbury, a 2.4 square mile Incorporated Village in Nassau County along the Long Island Rail Road, was selected for the initiative by the Long Island Regional Economic Development Council. BJH led a team in coordinating a committee of local stakeholders, executing public engagement events, studying existing conditions, and identifying projects to help bring about the revitalization of the downtown. Once projects were identified, BJH and its team prepared an implementation plan that identified the cost of the project, regulatory processes, and partners to implement each of the projects. Projects included a rezoning that would promote transit-oriented development and increased residential density near the train station; a commercial attraction program that would provide grants to new, targeted retailers for fit out; a comprehensive streetscape improvement plan that included street plantings, benches, new lighting, among other streetscape elements; and a redesign of the key intersection that connects the Long Island Rail Road station to the downtown. The funded projects are expected to be implemented between 2017 and 2020. The final plan can be found here.
