A decade ago, McCaskey graduate and later real estate developer Richard Field and his father visited the planning office of District 9 in Budapest, Hungary. They were shown a detailed plan comprising dozens of blocks describing precisely which buildings were to be razed, which renovated, the type of new construction to take place in designated locations, proposed pedestrian pathways, street enhancements, new green areas, and improvements to existing parks.
At the time of the visit, the neighborhood consisted of many run down buildings, dingy streets, trashed littered empty lots, and buildings teeming with squatters.
When Field examined the detailed redevelopment plans, he recognized the direction, vision, and commitment of local officials. Over time, Field and his associates acquired four sites on which they developed condominiums consisting of a couple hundred flats with indoor parking and ground level shops.
Today when Field looks out from his eighth floor balcony, he sees that plan fully realized. Consequently, the district has become one of the most fashionable and sought after sections of Budapest and is experiencing rapidly rising real estate values.
In contrast, a developer interested in building similar residential condominiums in downtown Lancaster would have a very different experience. There is no comparable plan for orderly development. A prospective builder or apartment purchaser can only see what exists now; not know what will occur later.
Furthermore, prospective developers would be hard pressed to detect much civic interest in facilitating a downtown housing trend or appreciation of the resulting gentrification that would spread to currently distressed nearby neighborhoods.
Grim evidence of this apparent disconnect was the choice of the Watt & Shand site for the convention center project with no apparent recognition that such a massive commercial structure would block the logical and orderly spread to the south of housing for empty nesters and young professionals. Instead of asking what can be done to trigger downtown gentrification, concentration was on what could be done with the Watt & Shand site.
Most recent downtown residential activity has concentrated on converting deserted industrial and retail buildings, wherever they might be located, into loft type residential units. This indeed is progress, but hardly sufficient in itself.
Planning requires expertise and consensus, not gimmicks such as trolley cars. And making what is planned actually happen requires education of decision makers and the public, investments in improving streets and parks, federal and state subsidies, and leadership.
To lead effectively, one must know where one is going. Planning provides direction.
