A $300,000 urban master plan that would make the Brazos River the heart of downtown and not its edge found an enthusiastic audience at its public unveiling Thursday.

City officials and their planning consultant, John Fregonese, of Portland, Ore., summarized the 138-page plan, complete with computer-animated images of the future “Greater Downtown” area on both sides of the Brazos River.

About 300 people attended the meeting at the Phoenix Ballroom in downtown to learn about and discuss the plan, which will go to the city council this fall for approval. It can be found at www.imaginewaco.com.

A rendering of an East Waco plaza, part of an overall “Greater Downtown” urban master plan.

“I think this is going to bring Waco national attention,” said Fregonese, former Portland planning chief who has done similar plans across the nation. “Waco could become famous for this.”

The 40-year plan depicts a dense, walkable urban core that would attract tens of thousands of new people as a place to live, work and enjoy cultural activities.

The area bounded by South 18th Street, Cameron Park, U.S. Business 77 and Baylor University would be stitched together with new walkways, bike lanes and short-haul public transit, such as streetcars.

Its centerpiece would be the Brazos River, which would be enhanced with esplanades, plazas, hotels, restaurants and condos built up to the river’s edge.

The plan has been a year in the making, based on a vision developed during workshops with hundreds of residents.

The finished product includes economic analysis and short-term action steps, including “catalyst projects” that would induce private investors to bet on Greater Downtown.

Those projects would likely include an Elm Street plaza on the river’s east bank, a Mary Avenue “festival street” and a mixed-use development along the west side of the Brazos.

“You’ve got a lot of the bones in place,” Fregonese said. “It’s a matter of enhancing that.”

During the question-and- answer session, Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce chairman Don Moes said the plan lacks a central, glitzy project, what he called a “big, hairy, audacious goal.”

Fregonese said downtown Waco already has a beautiful riverfront and other assets and doesn’t necessarily need a baseball stadium, an aquarium or a performing arts center.

“Things that work aren’t always big, splashy things,” he said. “It’s building on what you already have, with many, many businesses and festivals to activate the places you’ve already got.”

Austin Avenue business owner Chip Wilson asked how the city could ensure the vision gets realized.

“This is wonderful, I love it, but now what?” he said. “How do you get people to invest?”

Fregonese said the city will have to make annual capital commitments to projects such as the Elm Street plaza and the transit system and will have to provide some incentives to encourage businesses. The plan suggests creating a downtown development corporation that could provide land to major developments.

“It’s like kindling,” he said. “You start the fire, and it takes off on its own.”

City Manager Larry Groth said the investment in Greater Downtown could save the city money in the long run if it succeeds in getting people to live in the heart of town instead of on the sprawling margins. Sprawl costs more in terms of utilities, roads and public safety, he said.

“If 100,000 new people are spread throughout the county, it will put tremendous pressure on us,” he said. “It makes sense to start from the inside.”

After the meeting, Bill Clifton, head of the Waco Industrial Foundation, said the plan might take a few years to get going because of the weak economy. But investment in the core could pay dividends for a long time, he said.

“This would have a ripple effect all through the county,” he said. “Everybody benefits from getting a classy hotel and more conventions in town.”

Gale Edwards, first vice president of the Cen-Tex African-American Chamber of Commerce, said many plans involving East Waco have come and gone, but this time it’s different. This vision of incorporating the Elm Street corridor into downtown has buy-in from the city, the chambers, citizens and property owners, Edwards said.

“I see a turning point,” she said.

jbsmith@wacotrib.com

757-5752

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