Dothan’s City Center moving forward, developers say

DOTHAN, Ala. (WTVY) - Renovations towards Dothan’s City Center are moving along.

City leaders and RDG Planning and Design, the team taking on the downtown project, met on Tuesday to discuss the ongoing construction. Among the plans RDG has lined up for the new City Center includes a new conference center-type meeting room and kitchen for the Dothan Opera House, and a new downtown hotel.

The Opera House will also include new restroom facilities on every level, a catering kitchen, and a pre-function space for the main auditorium.

RDG says there is a lot of effort being made to get construction underway in Dothan.

“One thing you are not seeing yet coming out of the ground is all the work that’s happening underground,” said Matt Coen, one of RDG’s designers. So all of those utilities that are overheard, powerlines, and communication cables.”

Other project additions at the top of the list for RDG include additional restroom access and improvements to traffic flow. There are also plans to use streets close to the Dothan Civic Center as opportunities to host new community events.

“For instance, the street that is directly south behind the Civic Center is an intermodal. On the flip side is that for bigger events, there may be an opportunity to close that street to vehicular traffic and make it a festival street,” Coen said.

Coen said his team is looking forward to creating new spaces for people to enjoy in Downtown Dothan.

“It’s an opportunity to reinforce downtown Dothan to a broader community. A regional area,” Coen said.

Construction will start in January for the Opera House and April for the new Wiregrass Innovation Center. Both projects are planned to wrap up in 2025.

More future plans RDG has in mind are looking to add an art center arena and a roundabout leading off to the museum avenue and main street to improve traffic flow.

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