Development Information » Site Plan

Main Street, USA

Harrisburg never had a traditional downtown — until now. Using time-tested design principles and aesthetics, Harrisburg Town Center recalls the downtowns of decades past.

New Urban Appeal

Harrisburg Town Center is designed to reflect the architectural and planning principles of an early 20th Century small town in North Carolina. The vision of the Town Center is to create a pedestrian-friendly, walkable, mixed-use development to accommodate a variety of lifestyles, allowing residents and visitors to live, shop, work, play and meet with their neighbors, town leaders and other residents of Harrisburg. The Town Center is sensitively planned to integrate, rather than segregate, the various uses envisioned for the community.

Harrisburg Town Center incorporates the six components of a traditional town:

1. Town Center: A Main Street and public park is incorporated in the heart of the development, with the largest concentration of retail, restaurants and cultural amenities in this area.

2. Five Minute Walk: Almost all needs of the residents can be fulfilled within a five-minute walk, often to the same building. One can buy groceries, drop off children at daycare, play in the park or dine at a favorite restaurant within a short walk.

3. Street Network: A continuous web of gridded streets connects uses and buildings. On-street parking, relatively small blocks and wide sidewalks help create a pedestrian-friendly and safe neighborhood for residents and guests.

4. Narrow, Versatile Streets: Because of the number of streets throughout Harrisburg Town Center, each street can be small. Street trees, unified traditional lighting, benches, canopies and buildings constructed close to the curbline help the streets become public spaces dedicated to providing more to the community than merely moving automobiles.

5. Mixed-Use: Retail, offices, residential, recreational, educational and hotels are designed in harmony and overlap within certain districts or within the same building. The Town Center is designed to accommodate an array of lifestyles where residents can live above a store or office, live next to a store, or live five minutes from the store.

6. Special Sites For Special Buildings: As in any well-designed early 20th Century small town, there are key sites for special buildings. Focal sites have been reserved for special buildings, such as Harrisburg's new town hall.