Raimi + Associates is working with the City of Walnut Creek to craft the North Downtown Specific Plan, an area just north of Downtown that includes the Walnut Creek BART station. The Plan Area currently includes a disparate array of auto dealerships, repair shops, and low-intensity commercial buildings, as well as a mix of office buildings and some new housing. Anchored by a series of community advisory committee meetings, R+A worked with the city to create a strategy for retaining auto dealerships in a more compact urban format while encouraging a mix of transit-oriented housing, offices, and retail with pedestrian and bike improvements to link BART and Downtown.
 

The Plan includes a community benefits density bonus structure to incentivize affordable housing and improvements to public spaces. It also identifies placemaking strategies and design standards to create an Arts and Entertainment District and a Maker's Row focused on on-site artisan industrial production and sales. As the Plan is implemented over the next 10-15 years, it will enable the area to realize its potential as a dynamic mixed-use neighborhood connecting BART, Downtown, and the surrounding neighborhoods.