Warner Robins graduates from statewide placemaking program

WARNER ROBINS — Warner Robins has reached a milestone in redeveloping Commercial Circle by completing a two-year Georgia Municipal Association program.

The program, known as the Georgia Economic Placemaking Collaborative, aims to enhance the vitality of downtown and neighborhood areas.

Training, technical assistance, and networking opportunities are among the resources offered by the GEPC. While participating, cities develop projects to improve public spaces and stimulate economic growth.

Several projects in the downtown district were spearheaded by the city during the program.

• Electric vehicle chargers on South Armed Forces Boulevard.
• Wings at Commercial Circle, a public art installation created by local welding students.
• Downtown rendering signs that allow citizens to provide feedback on the city’s vision for Commercial Circle.
• The Downtown Placemaking Master Plan, designed to inform and guide future improvements.
• The Adopt-A-Box program, an initiative giving local artists the chance to decorate traffic boxes in the area.

According to Community and Economic Development Director Kate Hogan, the program provides cities with practical, cost-effective strategies to enhance the appeal of public spaces. Efforts were concentrated on South Armed Forces Boulevard and Commercial Circle.

“Large redevelopment is on the horizon. We’re still striving towards that goal, but we wanted to temporarily try to find ways to create some more viable public spaces for the residents and visitors of Warner Robins,” she said.

Resident input was also crucial in shaping the Downtown Placemaking Master Plan and the Commercial Circle feedback project, Hogan mentioned.

“Our biggest goals were to be open, and to listen to what other communities have gone through, but then also be open and listen to our residents,” she said.

Hogan explained that the GEPC was a collaborative effort. Through the initiative, the city can observe and learn from improvements made by other communities as they embark on their downtown development project.

“We were given the opportunity to work with other municipalities who are at various places in their downtown Renaissance journey. That was really helpful for us, because we’re kind of at the beginning, the fledgling state of reinvesting and reinvigorating our downtown,” she said.

Participation in the program not only led to tangible and aesthetic improvements, Hogan said, but also offered city staff a new perspective on placemaking. This fresh perspective now influences plans to create public spaces that cater to people of all ages and socio-economic backgrounds.

“[Staff has] the increased knowledge of how to potentially move forward with a broader placemaking plan, trying to make sure that we are still continuing to leverage the strategies that we learned in the program into our day to day jobs,” she said.

Overall, the program has been a source of motivation for the city.

“The Georgia Economic Placemaking Collaborative has really helped strengthen our desire to create public spaces that everyone can connect with, and really trying to do so while being good stewards of taxpayer dollars,” Hogan said. “[We’re] trying to ensure that we are working towards an accessible downtown area that anybody can come and enjoy.”

The Georgia Economic Placemaking Collaborative is supported by partnerships with Georgia Power, the Carl Vinson Institute of Government, the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, the Georgia Council for the Arts, the Georgia Tech Center for Economic Development Research, Electric Cities of Georgia, the Georgia Conservancy, and GeorgiaForward.