Planning & Redevelopment

At ICF International, we believe that action at the community level can catalyze broad-based change. ICF International's planning and redevelopment services support locally-based initiatives that improve the quality of life in urban and rural communities. We help communities plan and implement comprehensive development and finance strategies that include affordable housing, economic development, social services, and other components. Given the broad scope of these projects, we use an array of tools—quantitative analysis, facilitation, surveys, primary and secondary research, training, literature reviews, and innovative ideas—based on our work throughout the nation. We use these tools to deliver loan programs, program designs, planning documents, development strategies, performance report cards, Web-based communication services, regulations and procedures manuals, and other nuts and bolts products to our clients.

ICF International Awarded Major Contract to Help Rebuild Louisiana Housing Infrastructure ICF International Recommends Rebuilding U.S. Gulf Coast to Energy-Efficient Standards in Wake of Hurricanes Rebuilding After Hurricane Katrina: Smart Energy Choices Rebuilding After the Gulf Coast Hurricane: Sustainable Communities Using Energy Efficiency Brownfields: State, Local, and Regional Revitalization Housing Trust Funds Implementing Neighborhood Stabilization Grants Strengthening Your Human Services Network

Our planning projects commonly serve broader urban revitalization objectives and may involve urban in-fill schemes, the reuse of underutilized or abandoned properties, and sustainable development. Our redevelopment work often takes place in localities ravaged by natural disaster. In these cases, we sometimes manage a multi-disciplinary team of planners, analysts, and technical assistance providers who help the community look beyond emergency clean-up to develop a long-term recovery strategy. Typically, ICF International leads the recovery team and manages the coordination among providers, the community, and government staff at the federal and local levels.

SELECTED PROJECTS

Developing a Consolidated Plan for the City of Nashville, Tennessee Designing an Urban Recovery Plan for Arkadelphia, Arkansas Rebuilding a Business Center and Residential Area in Midwest City, Oklahoma

DEVELOPING A CONSOLIDATED PLAN, NASHVILLE, TN

Challenge Solution Benefit Challenge In response to funding and planning requirements of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the City of Nashville was scheduled to produce a new five-year Consolidated Plan for housing and community development. With limited staff and time resources, the City needed professional assistance with the data-intensive research, analysis, and writing tasks needed to produce the Plan. In combination with the Consolidated Plan requirement, the City was also due to produce a new Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing, a planning document to guide efforts aimed at increasing housing choice for all citizens. Both planning documents needed to address the population and economic growth of the area and the rapidly rising demand for affordable housing. The City therefore also wished to undertake a general housing market analysis that could bring a fresh, outside perspective to its affordable housing challenges. Solution To meet HUD's Consolidated Plan requirements, ICF International systematically collected and analyzed a large amount of demographic, economic, and other data under a tight timeframe. At the same time, active community participation and input was essential to the Consolidated Plan process. To address this need for input, we conducted site visits and interviews with as many community stakeholders as possible, including public and private entities, financial institutions, social service agencies, and nonprofit advocates. As an outside entity, ICF International elicited thorough responses from interviewees and compiled a comprehensive body of data for the development of the Consolidated Plan. We were also able to incorporate our knowledge of best housing practices from across the country. Using this local data and national experience, we helped the City identify the critical components of a successful affordable housing agenda and produced a report and a set of recommendations to tie these efforts together. Benefit Nashville obtained a timely submission and approval of their Consolidated Plan. City staff was able to focus on program implementation, rather than responding to HUD requests for clarification. The local community acquired a base of information with which to build a greater awareness of the need for affordable housing programs. The City and its partners are now discussing ways to maximize the impact of limited public resources.

DESIGNING AN URBAN RECOVERY PLAN, ARKADELPHIA, AR

Challenge Solution Benefit Challenge After suffering the impact of a devastating tornado in March 1997, Arkadelphia, Arkansas, needed a strategy for the reconstruction of its community. The tornado destroyed a significant part of the downtown business corridor and many of the city's most affordable housing units. As the City began to plan its long-term recovery, it turned to ICF International for assistance. Solution ICF International helped Arkadelphia design a homeownership program to comply with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requirements and negotiated effecctive program design flexibilities with HUD staff in Little Rock and Washington, DC. As a result, the program succeeded in re-building lower income neighborhoods that had sustained severe storm damage and also illustrated to the local construction industry that it was possible to design, build, and sell in-fill housing in that community. ICF International also provided land-use planning and strategic economic development assistance to Arkadelphia to help it revitalize the downtown central business district. As part of this assistance, we identified the most viable real estate parcels in the City and generated a list of important downtown projects. We also stressed the importance of intensifying residential uses in the neighborhoods adjacent to the downtown area as a component of its revitalization. ICF International ultimately produced a list of key projects, budgets, and a project implementation plan for the City. Benefit The City participated in a much-needed visioning process that enabled it to articulate the key projects necessary for revitalization. Arkadelphia has completed many of the key items in the 10-year plan developed by the ICF International team: A new City Hall was constructed in November 2000. A new Post Office was opened in February 2001. The City acquired funding for a streetscape improvement program for the business corridor and a riverfront park. A mixed-income community was built in an area hit by the tornado. Several new businesses opened in the downtown business corridor.

REBUILDING PROJECT, MIDWEST CITY, OK

Challenge Solution Benefit Challenge Severe tornadoes struck Oklahoma in 1999, devastating many communities including Midwest City. As a neighbor of Oklahoma City—the region's premier convention and hospitality center—losses from the tornado threatened to undermine Midwest City's economy. The City's motel district was wiped out and a mixed-income residential neighborhood was severely damaged. As a condition of the rebuiling, motel owners also wanted the City to build a meeting facility that could support their businesses as a condition of the rebuilding. As privately financed housing recovery began, the City also needed to identify gaps in the reconstruction and develop an action plan that ensured a complete revitalization. Solution The ICF International project team first performed an in-depth survey of the hospitality and convention industry in Oklahoma City and its environs, which identified a need for a secondary meeting facility that could house regional meetings for professional groups and private functions such as banquets or receptions. The study further indicated need for a facility that supplemented those available in Oklahoma City, rather than competing with them. Our market study also indicated that the "look" of the facility could be critical to its success. With these findings in mind, the ICF International team first suggested the size and layout that the facility should have to maximize its profitability. We also presented the City with several concept plans using a site they had purchased. These designs included features such as decorative fountains and walkways and positioned the facility to take advantage of its visibility from the interstate highway. The City has since adopted these recommendations. The ICF International team also examined redevelopment options for the residential neighborhoods. We first showed the City how to analyze building permits and use windshield surveys to document gaps in the reconstruction of the residential neighborhood. Our team also prepared a housing market analysis with data on construction costs, typical incomes, and the size and extent of the housing gap in the community. We then provided various strategies for financing housing construction. As a result, the City decided to design a City-wide housing program that used funds available through the Federal Home Loan Bank System, with a special focus on assisting victims of the tornado. Benefit Midwest City is on its way to building a meeting facility that can be supported by the market and will bring physical as well as financial enhancements to the community. The City received its first comprehensive look at its housing needs and the resources available to it. The City learned about its low-income housing gap, as well as the gap that exists for people whose incomes are too high to be eligible for most government assistance, yet are too low to participate in the traditional, private housing market. Midwest City developed contacts with the Federal Home Loan Banking members in its region and completed its applications for housing assistance.