A 60’s era HUD project turned the Las Cruces downtown Main Street into a pedestrian mall that eventually attracted vagrants, closed businesses and fell short from an urban design perspective. The City retained Sites Southwest to generate a vision and revitalization strategy for the area.

During the visioning process, it became clear the centerpiece of this urban design effort should be reopening Main Street to vehicle traffic with the goal of stimulating the area as a vibrant community core. Other redevelopment strategies included planning a new civic plaza and government buildings, attracting specialty retailers and service providers and amplifying the downtown’s role as a cultural arts center.

Following the successful strategic planning process, Sites Southwest was lead designer for a number of downtown catalyst projects. A new plaza, special paving and permanent shade structures (that harvest rain water) make the street easily convertible to an exciting pedestrian environment for major events. Sites Southwest also contributed distinctive landscapes to two downtown buildings: the new Las Cruces City Hall and the new Las Cruces Federal Courthouse.

Since adoption:

• Revived their main street from a dead pedestrian mall and succeeded