Wheaton's New Downtown
B.F. Saul Company
Challenge
B.F. Saul sought public support for the redevelopment of downtown Wheaton by actively engaging the community as a concept plan developed. Chesapeake was retained to oversee all aspects of public outreach for this project.
Wheaton residents had been through 20 years of fits and starts where redevelopment was concerned. They were skeptical about B.F. Saul’s ability to produce results and did not want to start from the beginning yet again.
Solution
The Chesapeake team cultivated a grassroots and media outreach plan to create ongoing dialogue with the community. We created the “Wheaton’s New Downtown” branding and designed a logo that captured the spirit of Wheaton in a professional manner. Chesapeake also created and oversaw a community-friendly website and used social media to complement outreach.
We facilitated dozens of community meetings with more than 40 organizations. Chesapeake also planned and promoted a workshop attracting nearly 200 residents and fostering significant feedback.
To establish relationships with Wheaton’s immigrant population, Chesapeake created an informal coalition of non-profit partners who had a strong presence in the community. We worked closely with groups such as the Latino Economic Development Corporation, Catholic Charities and Impact Silver Spring to ensure that we were communicating with a variety of cultures.
Results
Chesapeake engaged over 1,000 community members in the redevelopment process. B.F. Saul established instrumental relationships with community leaders, residents, reporters and government officials, to the point where stakeholders adopted the plan as their own.