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WHAT:

Sheridan Hollow Charrette

DATE/TIME:

Monday, April 2 –

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Kick-Off Meeting –April 2 at 6:30pm

Open to the public 1-8pm each day

LOCATION:

The Hampton Inn

25 Chapel Street, Albany

PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 23, 2012

Contact:

Mike Jacobson, Executive Director

Capital District Habitat for Humanity

Ph: (518) 462-2993

ALBANY’S SHERIDAN HOLLOW NEIGHBORHOOD TO GET A

TRANSFORMATIVE BOOST

Public Invited to Kick-off Planning Meeting

Albany, NY – Capital District Habitat for Humanity, the Touhey Home Ownership Foundation,

the City of Albany, 3tarchitects, ITT Technical Institute and Housing Visions, Inc., invite

community stakeholders to attend the Sheridan Hollow Charrette on April 2-5, 2012, at The

Hampton Inn in downtown Albany. This groundbreaking partnership between public, private and

non-profit stakeholders will be instrumental in

effecting real neighborhood revitalization that meets

the needs of the community, and is sustainable,

equitable and forward-thinking.

A charrette is a multi-day collaborative planning

event that engages all affected parties to create and

support a feasible plan that represents

transformative community change.

The goal of a charrette is to identify the priorities

for a community redevelopment project, create

practical designs that address these priorities, incorporate feedback from local residents, and

serve as a kick-off for the project. This planning session will help create strategies for

eliminating blight and promoting re-investment in an important and historically significant

Albany neighborhood.

In order to encourage as much community participation and input as possible, the charrette will

be open to the public each day, with several specific public meetings focusing on transportation,

housing, sustainability/environment, urban design/historic preservation, economic development,

and parks and recreation.

“This grassroots, proven approach to community development will deliver a plan that is

supported and celebrated by all stakeholders and can be implemented in a short time period,”

stated Mike Jacobson, Executive Director, Habitat for Humanity.

Students and faculty from ITT Technical Institute School of Drafting and Design, the Sage

College’s Interior Design program, and the University at Albany’s Department of Planning &

Geography Design Studio will support the charrette development team. The design charrette will

also engage key stakeholders, including community members, planners, architects, transportation,

environmental and housing experts, economists, government and law enforcement officials.

“We are honored to be working with this dedicated, collaborative team as we look to develop

functional designs─while keeping an eye with the area’s significant history─that will transform the

Sheridan Hollow area,” stated Scott Townsend, Founder and Principal of 3tarchitects.

The Sheridan Hollow Charrette Team has assembled more than forty properties in a tight

geographic footprint within Sheridan Hollow. While these properties will be the basis for the

project’s Phase One focus, the charrette will cover all of Sheridan Hollow’s development phases.

The Sheridan Hollow neighborhood is a gateway to the City’s downtown core, an entrance to

New York State government offices, and contiguous to the busy commercial and residential

corridor of Clinton Avenue.

The Sheridan Hollow Charrette Team is a partnership between public, private and non-profit stakeholders

with an interest in grassroots revitalization in Albany’s Sheridan Hollow neighborhood. The charrette

development team is led by Capital District Habitat for Humanity, the Touhey Home Ownership Foundation,

the City of Albany, 3tarchitects, and Housing Visions, Inc., with support from Northco, ITT Technical Institute

School of Drafting and Design, the Sage College’s Interior Design program, and the University at Albany’s

Department of Planning & Geography Design Studio. For more information, please visit

www.capitaldistricthabitat.org.

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