The City of Atwater has received state funding from the Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG) under the Planning and Technical Assistance Allocation (PTA) to conduct a Downtown Revitalization Study and prepare a plan. The city prepared a request for proposals and hired an outside professional to conduct the assessment. Synthesis Design completed the work. The result assessment is a recommendation that the City and Redevelopment Agency should seek to implement a Streetscape Plan along Broadway. This type of activity is essential to help preserve the viability of the Downtown Core Area. This concept plan was adopted the Atwater City Council in December 2009 as part of the grant closeout process.
The Revitalization Plan is available for download as an Adobe PDF Document located below on this page.
The City has subsequently applied for and received an additional CDBG grant to do design development based on the concept plan. The City issued an RFP for this component and hired Synthesis Design to implement the work. The work is ongoing at this time. Public Meetings and opportunities for input will be posted on the City Web Site and additional notification will be provided.
The following is intended to summarize what is in the Downtown Revitalization Strategy;
Downtown Atwater should reflect the residents and the image we want to project to visitors of the community.
Downtown Atwater is a business district and also a “living room” – people use the space for special community events.
Downtown Atwater is in need of updating to encourage new private investment and more use.
Downtown Atwater is currently lacking people spaces and gathering spots which encourage people to stay, shop, and enjoy the space.
Downtown Atwater needs additional street lighting to help encourage later shopping hours and to discourage vandalism and graffiti.
Downtown Atwater can benefit from investment in new benches, trash receptacles, signage, and landscaping including trees.
Downtown Atwater needs some improvements in terms of paving to eliminate difficult and uneven crosswalks and walkways.
Downtown Atwater can be renovated through a relatively simple design which will add value but not at an excessive cost – funding is available to implement most if not all of the proposed pieces.
Please review the Downtown Revitalization Strategy. Please feel free to email questions or comments to business@atwater.org or to Call the Dept. of Economic Development at 209-357-6367.
Downloadable Documents