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Placemaking Project: Newburyport Waterfront Master Plan

The Massachusetts Smart Growth Alliance recognizes placemaking initiatives across the Commonwealth. This project is one of many that were featured at our 2013 conference. See other placemaking examples

This master plan was completed for the Newburyport Redevelopment Authority (NRA), an agency that owns 4.2 acres of waterfront land surrounding a public park in the town’s downtown commercial district. The NRA hired Union Studio to help develop a vision for the property, which would be the basis for an RFP for its development. The goal was to balance viable economic development opportunity with the public’s enjoyment of this special waterfront open space. The process involved several public meetings and a thorough analysis of the existing site. It resulted in recommendations for more clearly defining the park, increasing open space by 30%, improving circulation and pedestrian connections, preserving parking, and creating two new mixed-use buildings at the perimeter of the site to generate economic development opportunity.

The existing NRA land currently provides approximately 370 public parking spaces on a dirt lot.

Contact: Emily Hall, Union Studio Architecture & Community Design, emily@unionstudioarch.com