The Walker Collaborative’s Phil Walker has over 35 years of experience preparing and implementing planning strategies for downtowns across the country.
In addition to creating numerous master plans as a consultant, he has spearheaded revitalization efforts as the downtown organization director in Pensacola, Florida, as the City Planning Director in Natchez, Mississippi, and as a Board of Directors member of a local Main Street program. He served from 2011-2013 as the part-time Interim Director of the Two Rivers Company – the downtown and riverfront revitalization agency for Clarksville, Tennessee.
Similarly, he served as the part-time Interim Director of the newly-established Downtown Natchez Alliance (2019-2022) after leading the preparation of their downtown master plan a year earlier. Phil Walker has also consulted to the National Main Street Center and has been a speaker on the subject at several universities and downtown revitalization conferences. His book entitled Downtown Planning for Smaller and Mid-sized Communities was published in 2009 by the American Planning Association’s Planners Press.
Downtowns & Commerical Districts Project Portfolio
Slidell, Louisiana
Olde Towne Slidell Master Plan
Located in a community of 30,000 people eight miles from New Orleans on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain, “Olde Towne” is Slidell’s historic downtown. The Walker Collaborative (TWC) was hired by the City to lead a team to prepare of a master plan for the area. The project had strong public engagement with numerous meetings, an online public opinion survey, and a five-day charrette, as well as a retail market analysis.
Russellville, Arkansas
Downtown Russellville Master Plan
Located 75 miles west of Little Rock, Russellville is a community of 28,000 people. TWC was hired by the City and Main Street Russellville to lead a team to prepare a plan to strengthen the downtown’s competitiveness. Strategies included a public events venue, a “road diet” for Main Street, improving intersections for pedestrian friendliness, a new downtown library, facade improvements, and on-street parking regulations.
Wilkesboro, North Carolina
Downtown Wilkesboro Master Plan
The Walker Collaborative was hired by the Town of Wilkesboro to create a physical improvement plan to help revitalize the historic downtown. Key recommendations included: traffic calming, streetscape redevelopment, additional parking, conversion of on-street parallel parking to angled parking in specific locations, enhancing the historic courthouse green, a new park and market, burying overhead utilities, and extending the existing greenway system.
High Point, North Carolina
High Point Core City Plan
Although High Point’s bi-annual “furniture markets” constitute the largest economic events in the state, they are both a blessing and a curse. Because furniture showrooms dominate the CBD’s ground floor uses, the downtown fails to function as a conventional downtown with a range of tenant types and activities. The Walker Collaborative (TWC) was hired by the City to lead the creation of a plan for the Core City.
Gallatin, Tennessee
Downtown Gallatin Master Plan
The City of Gallatin hired The Walker Collaborative to create a Downtown Master Plan. The project started with a public “kick-off” meeting, a market survey and a public charrette. Recommendations included: a new downtown library, a parking garage screened with a new City Hall annex, a public park, an enhanced public plaza, streetscape improvements, a greenway along Town Creek, a farmers market, mixed-use infill, a parking management program and more.
Additional Projects
Phil Walker has played a key role in the following projects through The Walker Collaboration (since 2002) and previous firms.
“I enjoyed your session. Your presentation was streamlined so it was easy to follow and grasp concepts,
entertaining with your natural injection of humor, and you had excellent presence.
You really connected with your audience.”
“Phil is a pleasure to work with and for. He is committed to giving his clients
everything they seek while providing high-quality professional recommendations and plans.
He is always seeking the best in colleagues and consultants, as well.”
“TWC was extremely knowledgeable and competent in the subject matter. They provided a level of expertise that brought our antiquated Design Standards in line with modern and easy to read standards. TWC was very organized, and we are very satisfied with the overall end product.”
“This draft is one of the most thorough and comprehensive planning documents I have ever read. Being used to NPS planning documents that are largely boiler plate and fluff and short on substance that serve little purpose than checking a box for park managers, I am truly impressed by your work.”
“TWC put together a great team that was able to comprehensively achieve the project goals on time and within budget. The recommendations presented in the final report were practical and creative. The level of detail for this report was perfect.”
“Working with TWC on the Washington Drive District Plan was enjoyable and rewarding. Phil’s team was very qualified and easy to work with. The high-quality renderings made the plan catch people’s attention. The vision and strategies detailed in the written text inspired those who will implement it. Phil is very attentive, quick to respond, always willing to listen, and incorporate your ideas.”
“The reason the City continuously hires The Walker Collaborative, even over the course of multiple political administrations, is because they do a good job. Phil is good at listening to his clients and the public in general, and he takes the time to understand the various existing conditions in a thorough manner. His solutions for our community always seem to be the most technically sound and pragmatic path to take, so we value his recommendations.”
“I received lots of feedback from participants that your presentation was well presented, informative, and professional. It left everyone with confidence in the project and proposed changes.”
“Philip and his team are sincerely nice people with no pretense –
a delight to be around and interact with.
I am looking forward to helping implement all the great ideas and images they created for our City.”
“Phil’s charrette process exceeded our expectations… Phil and his team demonstrated an outstanding ability to work with anxious developers, interested property owners, and concerned neighbors. The caliber of Walker’s work was proven when the resulting Downtown and Riverfront Master Plan was awarded the 2009 Outstanding Planning Award from the Alabama Chapter of the American Planning Association.”
