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Western Electric SDAT
The City of Burlington hosted the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Sustainable Design Assessment Team (SDAT) from Wednesday, September 19th through Friday, September 21st. During this visit, the City held a series of facility tours, public meetings and focus groups where neighborhood residents, former workers and others could engage with the professionals assembled to help envision a redevelopment plan for the former Western Electric property and a new future for the nearby community. The SDAT visit culminated in a presentation and later in 2019, the release of a final report.
The intent of the SDAT grant and visioning report was two-fold: one, to develop a redevelopment plan for a private property using community-based feedback and sustainable principles; two, to engage with neighborhood residents, local officials and stakeholders to develop recommendations to improve the greater community, aiding the sustainability of the economy and opportunities.
Burlington was one of a select few that were chosen in the nation for this grant. The SDAT program is a three-day program designed to help communities develop a vision for a sustainable future and a realistic, attainable road map for the reuse of significant property in their community. The program brought a team of experts including architects, urban designers, landscape architects, planners, economists, and others to work with Burlington leaders, stakeholders, and citizens. The result will be a broad assessment that helps frame a plan for reuse of the Western Electric Plant in Burlington. The final plan is expected in the first quarter of 2019.
View the Final Report from the AIA SDAT Team here.
Initial Report Slides are available here.
Do you have a Western Electric Story? Share it with us: Seeking Public Input
Western Electric
Awarded American Institute of Architects Grant
The City of Burlington has been selected by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) to receive a 2018 Sustainable Design Assistance Team (SDAT) grant.
The grant will provide the City with a multi-disciplinary AIA project team that will work with community stakeholders to build a shared, sustainable vision and comprehensive master plan for the redevelopment of the former Western Electric facility on North Graham-Hopedale Road.
In addition to providing volunteer design experts, the AIA will contribute up to $15,000 toward the process. The City is providing $5,000 in matching funds. The total estimated value of the AIA grant is $175,000.
The AIA has helped more than 200 cities use interdisciplinary design expertise to solve community problems over the last 50 years, according to Erin Simmons, AIA’s Senior Director of Design Assistance. “The redevelopment of the former Western Electric facility presents a unique opportunity for the revitalization of both the site and the surrounding neighborhoods. The SDAT program is looking forward to working with residents and stakeholders to develop an overall vision coupled with actionable recommendations for the project area,” she said.
Located on the east side of the City, Western Electric is a 22-acre former US Army missile & communications systems manufacturing site with 760,000 square feet of space in 16 buildings. At its peak in the 1960’s, this plant employed almost 4,000 engineers, technicians and line workers. Entire neighborhoods, schools and shopping areas were built nearby to serve the plant.
Employment slowly declined at the plant as the Cold War ended. In 1991, the facility officially closed. The property was sold by the US Government in 2004; it has been predominantly vacant since. In 2016, the plant was added to the National Register of Historic Places to encourage tax credit investors and historic redevelopment.
How can this former plant anchor a vibrant, sustainable economic future? The SDAT process is designed to align multiple resources and stakeholders to create a series of actionable steps that will lead to neighborhood revitalization, new investment and new opportunities for the community. Action steps will be developed based on the priority issues and needs identified by the SDAT Steering Committee and feedback from the AIA SDAT team members.
The representatives of the diverse Steering Committee, which consists of representatives from area governmental agencies, non-profits, religious institutions, and businesses, convened with the City’s assigned AIA project team leader, Tom Liebel, to kick off the process. Mr. Liebel is a Baltimore, MD based architect and a leading voice on adaptive reuse and historic preservation projects nationwide. His projects have won multiple awards from the Urban Land Institute, AIA and the US Environmental Protection Agency. Mr. Liebel is a Fellow at the AIA and was one of the first architects in the country to receive the LEED Accredited Professional designation.
The final SDAT presentation is expected to take place in fall 2018. The final SDAT report is anticipated to be delivered to the City of Burlington in the first quarter of 2019
SDAT Site Visit 9/19 - 9/21
Western Electric Site
Western Electric Building
Historic Western Electric
SDAT Community Steering Committee
Ian Baltutis | Mayor, City of Burlington |
Jenny Faulkner | Public Information Officer, ABSS |
Bryan Hagood | Manager, Alamance County |
Lisa Edwards | Gate City Dream Center |
Ann Meletzke | Executive Director, Healthy Alamance |
Kathy Colville | Cone Health |
Steven Balog | Past President, Burlington Civitan Club |
David Spruill | Chair, Martin Luther King, Jr. Coalition |
Jose Silva | Owner, Burlington Insurance Agency |
Jeff Johnson, AIA | Project Leader, Alley, Williams, Carmen & King |
Daniel Shoffner | Strategic Initiatives Manager, BFD |
April Durr | Director of Community Impact, United Way of Alamance County |
Veronica Revels | Executive Director, Burlington Housing Authority |