Cullman, Alabama

Downtown Cullman Design Guidelines

Cullman was hit by a tornado that destroyed part of its historic downtown. With many property owners needing to quickly repair and rebuild, the City’s lack of historic zoning and design guidelines amplified the downtown’s vulnerabilities. Not wanting to hold up the recovery process, the City quickly hired The Walker Collaborative (TWC), which led to an intensive three-day charrette to create design guidelines. Support was provided by Common Ground Urban Design + Planning and local architects.

Preparing roughly 75% of the document and presenting it to the public by the end of the charrette, the guidelines were completed by the end of the same week.

The City has since utilized the document for guidance on repairs and new construction that has resulted in $11 million of investment, $580,000 in sales and property tax revenue, and 885 jobs. The City won an award in 2015 for their downtown recovery successes, which highlighted their design guidelines.