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2000 – Present

In early spring 2000, the Vermont Arts Council began a search for a Lead Artist to oversee design, fabrication and community involvement in aesthetic treatments for the redevelopment of a portion of U.S. Highway Route 2 through the village of Danville, VT. Highlights of the planning and design process include:

• Formation of a Local Review Committee [LRC] in Danville in March 2000; members representing nine distinct constituencies from the greater Danville community were appointed by the Selectboard to oversee the Project through to its conclusion.
  
  
• A Request for [Artist] Qualifications was published in May 2000, and the Council received over 20 applications from artists with strong and varied experiential backgrounds in sculpture, landscape architecture, painting, photography, printmaking, and public art.
  
  
• The LRC reviewed applications in Danville in July 2000. After narrowing the field and conducting on-site interviews, the Committee selected two artists: David Raphael and Andrea Wasserman to guide the process. Throughout summer and fall 2000 the Design Team, comprised of the artists and engineers, met with the LRC to develop an understanding of the needs and scope of the Project. Additional meetings of the LRC were held on a regular basis during the first two years of the Project.
  
  
• In mid-November 2000, the first open-forum Community Meeting was held in Danville to gather input from the residents of the Town, for incorporation into a Preliminary Design Proposal. A subsequent Community Meeting approximately 18 months later helped refine the proposals, culminating in a Preliminary Design Proposal that was reviewed by the LRC in early 2001.
  
  
• As mandated by Vermont statute, a 502 Hearing was held in Danville in September 2001, defining the scope and limits of the capital construction Project to all affected residents, business owners, landowners and holders of Title, and soliciting comments for consideration and incorporation into the proposed plan.
  
  
• In early spring 2002 the Danville Selectboard gave approval to the preliminary proposals for landscaping, plantings, lighting and artistic enhancements and work began on the Final Design Plan.
  
  
• The Final Design Plan was presented to the Selectboard and to the greater community in late 2002, after which time pursuit and development of permits essential to the project, and fabrication of working models and prototypes and construction drawings of the individual enhancement elements began.
  
  
• Through Senator Leahy’s leadership role in the U.S. Senate, the project has been lauded as a model of Context Sensitive Design, and has received two federal appropriations: the first in 2004 for nearly $2 million, and the second in 2005 for $5 million.  These commitments of support and funding have helped secure a place in the lineup of projects that will be undertaken by VTrans.
  
  
• In August 2006, as mandated by Vermont statute, an Act 250 Hearing was held in Danville, reaffirming the scope of the project and gauging its environmental impact on the community and the state. Minor adjustments to the landscaping plan were requested and a permit was approved.
  
  
  
  
  
  

 KEYS TO SUCCESS

• Vital partnerships between local government, the Vermont Arts Council and the Vermont Agency of Transportation were established early on in the project.
  
  
• The creation of a Local Review Committee ensured the participation and buy-in of Danville stakeholders
  
  
• An intensive series of community meetings over the course of 18 months and occasional meetings over the following two years kept the channels of communication open between residents and the design group.
  
  
• The vision of the project incorporated community involvement, preservation and promotion of the community's identity, noted as a specific need from the outset.
  

 NEWS ARCHIVE

For current and archived news items, visit the Danville Project News page.