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Town Center Plan
January 2007
Concept Design
The following section provides context for and
explanation of the key features of the Concept
Design diagram and accompanying solutions,
sketches, and ideas produced during the
design workshop. Based on public input to
the greatest extent possible, and grounded
in market reality as well as the input of
transportation and design professionals, the
Concept Design incorporates the following
key features and ideas.
Historic Crossroads:
The historic rural crossroads would contain a
mix of small professional office and residen-
tial uses that re-use existing, traditional or
historic houses. On vacant sites in this area,
there could also be small, new but compat-
ible infill structures that mimic the scale and
character of the existing traditional pattern.
Office and residential uses would be delib-
erately limited in scale so that their parking
and vehicular access needs do not noticeably
affect the landscape and layout of sites. Cer-
tain notable houses and sites may be used
as community amenities. For example, one
of these could be the area around the Page-
Ferrell House, surrounded by a green lawn
and public park shaded by large ash trees,
which could serve as a rural heritage park
and outdoor gathering spot. Another may
be the Christian Church that could serve as a
small museum or interpretive center. One or
two other notable houses might be re-used
as bed-and-breakfast establishments. Land-
scape features of the historic rural cross-
roads, such as backyard fruit trees and out-
buildings, ribbon pavement with swales, and
the deep-cut road profile of Church Street,
would preserve a sense of the community’s
history for residents and visitors.
Civic/Cultural Area:
The civic/cultural focus would contain a mix
of public, semi-public, special commercial
and workplace uses in a collection of small-
The top photo shows how lower Church Street looks in July 2006. The bottom photo is a visualization of how it
might look in the future with architecturally compatible infill development added, as recommended in the Town
Center concept design. (Photos and visualization: Sean Eno for the Town of Morrisville)
Chapter 2: Planning Process & Concept Design