The central area of the Municipality of Stara Zagora, Bulgaria has declined rapidly since the political changes of 1989. The municipality’s central area, rich in archeological sites, lacked a coherent strategy for fostering the growth and redevelopment necessary for economic renewal. The City of Durham, North Carolina, recognized for its innovations in downtown redevelopment, was partnered with Stara Zagora to help the city develop a strategy to revitalize its downtown.

Through the 12-month technical partnership with Durham, practitioners from Stara Zagora worked with their partners from Durham to formulate a new downtown development plan. The partners identified fundamental principles for the downtown development plan, which included using public/private partnerships to encourage and control development and using concessions by private developers to benefit the community at large.

Stara Zagora targeted a number of municipally owned properties for immediate disposition and redevelopment: the Municipal Opera and Theater Building; Central City Square; the Augusta Trayana Roman Excavation; and the Municipal Building Complex. As a result of the collaboration between Stara Zagora and Durham, the bidding process for municipally owned properties incorporated significant innovations. Under the new process, the municipality asks bidders to present their ideas for the usage of the buildings along with plans, which will ensure a consistent image for all future downtown development projects. In addition, Stara Zagora gives community groups the opportunity to review bid proposals and to voice their concerns regarding the usage of the buildings. As a result, the process has become more transparent, has included citizens in the decision-making process, and has been strategically marketed to ensure competitive and equitable bids.

The officials from Durham also introduced the concept of concessions, which enable the municipality to grant building rights on municipal properties to private developers in exchange for improvements to public areas that benefit the community at large. This concept and a more transparent planning process were noted as the key achievements of the partnership.

While focused on process, this Resource Cities partnership yielded tangible results, generated interest from citizens, and ignited a new interest in doing business with the municipality. The results of the partnership will benefit all subsequent public/private development projects in the downtown area.