"MIG has extensive downtown planning experience from cities across North America," says Finegan. Other downtown planning projects led by MIG have included the Downtown Los Angeles Development Strategy, Downtown Spokane Partnership Strategic Plan, Downtown Phoenix Strategic Visioning and Downtown Sacramento Strategic Action Plan.

MIG, a woman-owned business, will team with the Denver firm Progressive Urban Management Associates. National parking consultant Carl Walker Inc., based in Tempe, AZ, will join the team.

"We are excited about MIG's ability to inspire and lead the various Downtown stakeholders to build consensus around a common vision," Basey says. "Downtown belongs to the entire community and MIG will engage the entire city in a conversation about where Downtown should be in 20 years."

The consultant team will work with the City and county of Denver and Downtown Denver Partnership Inc. in preparing the plan. Last month, the City and the Partnership announced a Steering Committee representing a broad variety of downtown stakeholders. The steering committee will guide the planning process, expected to take 18 months. The steering committee's initial meeting is scheduled for Dec. 13.

The MIG team was chosen through a request for proposals process, explains Denver manager of Community Planning and Development Peter J. Park. Park said that the selection committee was unanimous in choosing MIG after an exhaustive and extensive evaluation of the finalists.

MIG Inc. is a multidisciplinary firm that specializes in urban and community design, public outreach and participation, consensus building and facilitation, communications, and technology tools for planners. Leading the process for creating the Denver Downtown Area Plan will be the responsibility of founding principal Daniel Iacofano.

Iacofano is nationally recognized as an expert and innovator in the areas of process design and management, public participation and consensus building, specifically for downtown development and planning projects. The National League of Cities, the International Downtown Association, the American Planning Association and the American Society of Landscape Architects have recognized his work.

Downtown Denver Partnership president and CEO Tamara Door adds that private investment in the plan will supplement the overall budget. "In addition to the contributions made by the Downtown Denver Partnership and the City and county of Denver, we've had substantial pledges and in-kind contributions to the plan," Door says. "We will continue to raise the money needed to create a visionary plan and implementation strategies for the next 20 years."

The selection committee for the consultant team was comprised of Basey, Door, Finegan, and Park. Other members include John Desmond, the Partnership's vice president for Urban Planning and Environment; Tyler Gibbs, manager of Planning Services and Urban Design for the City and county of Denver; and Kiersten Faulkner, the Downtown plan's project manager.

The plan's study area is similar to the boundaries of the 1986 Downtown Plan and encompasses about 1,800 acres. It includes the Central Business District, Civic Center, Lower Downtown, Central Platte Valley and Auraria Higher Education Campus. The plan will also address connections to the adjacent neighborhoods of Ballpark, Five Points, Uptown, Capitol Hill, Golden Triangle, La Alma/Lincoln Park and Highland.

The Downtown Area Plan will be a 20-year "vision plan" that city leaders expect will provide a foundation for strategic actions that will shape downtown's future development, enhance connections to surrounding neighborhoods and strengthen downtown's role as the heart of the region.