2016 aLABama Downtown Laboratory 

 

"Good Design. Good Business.” is the theme for Main Street Alabama’s 3^rd annual aLABama Downtown Laboratory Conference, August 22-24, in Five Points South, Birmingham.  The conference is highly anticipated and will be attended by downtown revitalization experts, historic preservationists and economic development professionals from across the state.  Main Street Alabama has a packed conference planned with the focus on Design - one of the four points of the Main Street Approach.

Featured speakers include:

• Ed McMahon, a renowned speaker and a thinker on health and real estate.  He is also a senior staff adviser for Urban Land Institute’s (ULI) Building Healthy Places Initiative, is currently at work on a major new report, Active Transportation and Real Estate: New Frontiers in Development, which will be released at ULI's Spring Meeting in Houston in May 2015. 

• Donovan Rypkema is principal of PlaceEconomics, a Washington, DC-based real estate and economic development consulting firm. His specific fields of consultation include feasibility analyses for real estate development, training in community-based development, economic revitalization of downtowns and neighborhood commercial centers, and the rehabilitation of historic structures.

Other topics include popups in underutilized spaces, branding your community, and design solutions for downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts. Also returning by popular demand is Shark Tank where designated Main Street Alabama communities have the opportunity to pitch their design oriented projects to a panel and live audience.

LAB SCHEDULE

MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2016

NEW PreLAB Session!! 12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.: Urban Communities Luncheon at Ocean Restaurant featuring brief remarks by Ed McMahon, Senior Fellow at Urban Land Institute and presentation by Matt Wagner, Vice President of the National Main Street Center.  Learn about the impact of transformation strategies on urban commercial districts from case studies including Little Haiti, Miami; Gary, Indiana; Detroit, Philadelphia and Lexington, Kentucky.  Separate Ticket Required- Limited Seating*

1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.: Conference Registration Highlands United Methodist Church 

2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.: Conference Welcome Highlands United Methodist Church Sanctuary

NEW Session!!  3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.: Opening Plenary "Where am I? The Power of Uniqueness." featuring Ed McMahon, who holds the Charles E. Fraser Chair on Sustainable Development at the Urban Land Institute in Washington, DC, believes that Place is more than just a location on a map. Place is the unique collection of qualities and characteristics–visual, cultural, social, environmental–that provide meaning to a location. Sense of place is what makes one city or town different from another, but it is also what makes our physical surroundings worth caring about.  Highlands United Methodist Church Sanctuary

NEW Social Opportunity!!  6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Five Points South Fork & Swig Tour presented by PNC Bank

 

From James Beard Award winning restaurants to some of America’s best beer bars, Five Points South is Birmingham’s premier culinary district! Join us on Monday, August 22^nd to try some of them! The event will begin at 6 p.m. and will come to a close at 9 p.m.

Come hang with other conference aatendees as we stroll this walkable neighborhood and savor in the experience of Five Points South! Enjoy a complimentary food tasting at each location in addition to some socializing and some awesome drink specials.  Meet the group in the lobby of the Hotel Highland to begin your tour at 5:45 p.m. This event is included with your LAB registration but you must make reservations on the registration page *  Eat here, Drink here, Be here, Five Points South!

TUESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2016

8:30 a.m. - 9:15 a.m.: Land Use Planning and Economic Development with Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham with Charles Ball and Yvonne Murray.

9:15 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.: Getting Your House in Order: Practical Design and Planning Tips for Downtown with Randy Wilson, President and Director of Design, Community Design Solutions. 

Session Description: No one would ever think of inviting people over for a party without first getting their house in order. From mowing the lawn to trimming the hedges to vacuuming the carpet to washing the dishes, these are the practical things one must do to be a consummate host. However, when it comes to our downtowns, sometimes we forget to “put our best foot forward” and wonder why our “guests” are not impressed. In this highly visual session you will learn practical design and planning tips that can both activate your downtown as well as plan your preferred future so that all of your guests leave impressed.

10:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.: BREAK Sponsored by Goodwyn Mills Cawood

10:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.: Branding’s Role in Downtowns with Ben Muldrow, Partner, Arnett Muldrow & Associates

Session Description: During this session, you will learn about the brand development process, the importance of organizational distinction, the role of brand extension, and the importance of measuring the effectiveness.

Lunch on your own in the Five Points South Culinary District

NEW!!  Multiple Session Options:

1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.: Urban Track Presentation: The Innovation District with Ben Wieseman, Director of Catalytic Development, REV Birmingham

Session Description: Using the current Innovation District Project, this session will show and demonstrate how 2 unique programs, REV Birmingham and the Auburn Urban Center are working together to create place, uphold and implement Main Street strategies and to help direct the growth of new development opportunities in the City of Birmingham. The session will explain both programs and discuss their current work including the ZYP Bikeshare program, the Birmingham Lights project and several other programs and activities along with a discussion about the Innovation District.

or

1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.: Rural Track Presentation: Rural Trends in Main Street with Matt Wagner Ph.D., Vice President of Revitalization Programs, National Main Street Center

Session Description: Current trends involving demographic shifts and technology enhancements within rural communities have caused dramatic impacts on small business development and revitalization activities within rural towns.  This discussion, will focus on how these trends can be effectively understood and positively positioned to lead to enhanced revitalization efforts.

3:00 p.m. -  3:15 p.m.: BREAK Sponsored by Goodwyn Mills Cawood

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND!!  3:15 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.: Shark Tank

Session Description:  Watch Designated Communities vie for design services in our very own Shark Tank, loosely based on the popular television series.  Our Sharks are a select group of design professionals specializing in one of the following areas: Landscape, Façade Renderings, Logo/Brand refreshing, Traffic Engineering and Public Space Improvement projects.  This high paced, “living session” will give communities an opportunity to win awards that will turn their design challenges into implementable projects.

7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.  Main Street Alabama Awards of Excellence at the Florentine Building, 2101 2nd Avenue N  

Main Street Alabama Awards of Excellence Banquet

sponsored by

Alabama Municipal Electric Authority

Join Main Street Alabama and our special guest Matt Wagner, VP of the National Main Street Center and Donovan Rypkema, keynote speaker as we celebrate the successes of our local Main Street programs with a dinner and awards program.  

 Separate ticket required*- transportation provided from Hotel Highland lobby

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 24, 2016

8:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.: PlaceEconomics - Adaptive Reuse of Historic Buildings with Donovan Rypkema, Principal, PlaceEconomics

Session Description: A frequently underappreciated component of historic buildings is their role as natural incubators of small businesses. It isn’t the Fortune 500 who are creating the net new jobs in America. 85% of all net new jobs are created by firms employing less than 20 people. One of the few costs firms of that size can control is occupancy costs – rents. In both downtowns and in neighborhood commercial districts a major contribution to the local economy is the relative affordability of older buildings.  We need to use our cities, our cultural resources, and our memories in such a way that they are available for future generations to use and appreciate.  Historic preservation and downtown revitalization make cities viable and equitable. 

9:30 a.m. -  9:45 a.m.: BREAK Sponsored by Goodwyn Mills Cawood

9:45 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.: Downtown’s Design Advantage: Tapping the Potential of Place with Jason Fondren, Principal Planner, KPS Group, Inc.

Session Description: Downtowns and Main Streets are physically very different from contemporary commercial districts. Does this make them obsolete or is this the key to unleashing their true potential? This session will explore the ways in which downtown’s design difference attracts people and fulfills their yearning for “place.” KPS Group’s principal planner and author of the Main Street Alabama Design Guide, Jason Fondren will illustrate important planning and design concepts to help communities large and small optimize their downtown’s design advantage and compare strategies for promoting better design decisions.

11:30 a.m. -  CONFERENCE CLOSING: ANNOUNCE DATES AND LOCATION OF 2017 LAB

NEW!! 12:30 p.m.- 2:30 p.m.: Rural Communities Luncheon at Ocean Restaurant featuring Ben Moore of Ben Moore Studio

Session Description: Small Cities Design Solutions -  Ben’s work in Kansas has offered some insight into key patterns when working in these small to midsize communities.  Ben will showcase a series of case studies from the Land of Oz that contrast in design style to include ultra-modern, kitsch to historic preservation.  The take home for you will be how these projects were designed, funded and what components led to success for the businesses that occupy these buildings.  Separate Ticket Required - Limited Seating*

*All separate ticket items may be purchased on a single transcation using the link below

 

Register Now!