Contact:
Linda St. John – President
The Village of Spring Hill, Inc.
4354-A Old Shell Road, #145
Mobile, Alabama 36608
Email: info@thevillageofspringhill.com
Web:  www.thevillageofspringhill.com

The Village of Spring Hill Signs Contract with Town
Planning Firm Dover, Kohl & Partners

Mobile, Ala. – June 26, 2007 – The Village of Spring Hill, Inc., an Alabama non-profit corporation, has signed a contract with nationally recognized town planning firm Dover, Kohl & Partners of Coral Gables, Fla. Over the next several months, Dover, Kohl & Partners will assist the Village in creating an updated master plan for the Spring Hill community in Mobile, Ala.
Spring Hill has a rich history dating back to the early 1800s, serving as a refuge from the yellow fever epidemics that plagued the rest of the city, and hosting one of the South’s first institutes of higher learning, Spring Hill College. For the past several decades, however, commercial and public facilities in Spring Hill have suffered continual decline. A number of key commercial spaces are underutilized, parking lots often overwhelm the area, and pedestrian use is very limited.

“Understanding the reasons for this decline—and more importantly how to correct them—forms the cornerstone of this project,” said Linda St. John, president of the organization. “We understood from the very start that we needed a solid plan in order to effectively move forward.”

The work of Dover, Kohl & Partners was a logical fit for this project. Aside from being a specialist in community redevelopment, Dover, Kohl puts community involvement at the center of its planning process. The firm believes in the use of a charrette, an intensive week-long public design process held on-site in the community.

Taken from nineteenth century French design competitions, a charrette was a portable cart on which artists would carry their supplies to quickly execute their projects before judging. The charrette process ensures that all stakeholders in the community—residents, businesses, property owners, and city administration—have a chance to guide and take ownership in the final plan.

Services to be provided by Dover, Kohl also include a traffic study, commercial market analysis and conceptual designs for the key commercial areas. Bringing the results of these activities together with the output of the charrette will help to create the updated master plan. When combined with a phased implementation strategy, the Village will have a workable plan and roadmap for the coming years.

The upcoming planning efforts were funded in part by a grant from the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA). The Village of Spring Hill undertook a thorough Request for Proposal (RFP) process in order to ensure that qualified candidates were reviewed and that the best candidate was selected.

According to St. John, “Dover, Kohl’s qualifications and project approach really set it apart from the other candidates. We feel confident in our ability to accomplish the project’s goals with the help of such a great partner.”

Victor Dover, principal with Dover, Kohl & Partners, is equally enthusiastic about working with the Village. “This is a very important time in the history of Spring Hill and we look forward to working with the community to guide the continued evolution of the Village.”

The Village of Spring Hill will be coordinating public notices regarding this project. Dover, Kohl will be in Mobile for a site visit Sept. 24-25. Communications regarding meeting dates and times will be posted on the web site—www.thevillageofspringhill.com—and communicated throughout the community. Dover, Kohl will present its final plan for The Village of Spring Hill Nov. 5-13.

The Village of Spring Hill, Inc., was founded in the spring of 2006 to help improve the aesthetic and commercial appeal of the Spring Hill community in Mobile. Soon after, the Village received its 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status from the IRS and began a series of projects aimed at improving the community and encouraging pedestrian use.

The Village of Spring Hill has received several grants, including from the Alabama Department of Transportation and the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs. The group continues to receive broad-based support from the community’s residents and businesses, the City of Mobile, the Mobile City Council, and state and federal representatives. Boundaries for the Village of Spring Hill extend from Interstate‑65 on the east to University Boulevard, including the University of South Alabama, on the west and from Airport Boulevard, excluding commercial properties, on the south to the Canadian National Railroad on the north.

Dover, Kohl & Partners is a leading town planning firm focused on revitalizing traditional towns and maximizing community involvement throughout the planning process. Dover, Kohl led recent planning efforts for the downtown area of Montgomery, Ala.; a post-Katrina community charrette for Ocean Springs, Miss.; revitalization in Hercules, Calif.; and waterfront development in Jupiter, Fla. The firm’s work has been featured in Southern Living, BusinessWeek and Metropolitan Home. Founding partners Victor Dover and Joseph Kohl have published a number of professional articles and are members of the Congress for the New Urbanism.

For more information visit www.thevillageofspringhill.com and www.doverkohl.com
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