The City of Essex Junction is excited to announce the upcoming Community Design Charrette for the Connect the Junction Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Master Plan project. This initiative aims to create vibrant, walkable communities centered around the City's public transit corridors by planning for future development along Pearl Street, Park Street, and the surrounding areas.
Residents are invited to participate in a series of engaging activities from October 4 to 7 to share their thoughts and contribute to the development of the TOD Master Plan. The weekend's first event will be on Friday, October 4, at 6 p.m. near the ticket booth at the Essex High School homecoming game. Attendees will have the opportunity to join the Community Development Department and Framework consultants to learn more about the project and find out how to be involved.
The main event will be on Saturday, October 5. The community is invited to a Kick-off Presentation and Design Workshop from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Champlain Valley Expo in the Robert E. Miller Expo Centre. This will be an opportunity to hear a presentation from the project team about the progress made so far and provide valuable feedback on challenges and opportunities in the area. Residents are encouraged to participate in activities to envision design solutions for Pearl Street, Park Street, and the Five Corners. If you can not attend it in person, you can still join the kick-off presentation online at: https://live.zoho.com/8EcfsT4khK.
The weekend continues on Sunday, October 6, with a Site Walk of the project area beginning at 1 p.m. in front of Firebird Cafe. The Site Walk will allow participants to explore existing conditions and discuss opportunities for growth and improvement. On Monday, October 7, at 10 a.m., the project team will be at the Crescent Connector Ribbon Cutting Ceremony in the new parking lot on Railroad Street, where they will host another site walk and tour focused on the areas around the new road following the ceremony. The final public activity will be at 6:30 p.m., where the project team will share findings from the charrette workshop and gather additional feedback from attendees.
For those unable to attend the dedicated events, Open Studio hours will be available on Sunday and Monday from 12-5 p.m. Residents can stop by at any time during these hours to view project boards, engage with the project team, and share their thoughts on the thoughtful growth, diversified housing options, and pedestrian and transit-friendly developments.
Participants are encouraged to RSVP for the Saturday workshop. To RSVP or for more information, please visit the Connect the Junction website at www.connectthejunction.org or contact Chris Yuen, Community Development Director, at cyuen@essexjunction.org or 802-878-6944.