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CHARLOTTE – Center City Partners is working on a new vision for uptown Charlotte which will guide the growth and development of Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s urban core over the next 10 years.

"This is a blueprint growth for the development growth of our center city -- it's to set a vision for the next decade,” said Michael Smith of Charlotte Center City Partners.

Tuesday morning, the group kicked off a 12-month-long process to create the Center City 2020 Vision Plan.

"You compound $5.6 billion of public and private investments in a decade and then you have an economy that shifts as dramatically as we've recently experienced -- it makes it a perfect time to think about ‘We've got this new reality and where do we go from here?’" said Smith.

Center City’s seen rapid development over the past decade. New high-rise office and condo towers have come, as has the light rail line, arts district and entertainment venues. The 2020 plan will move forward with the growth and address some of the current problems.

“What's unique about us is not that we plan -- but that we execute on it -- both as public and private partners working together for those shared goals," said Smith.

The plan is focused on pedestrian-friendly streets and architecture. The study is estimated to cost $750,000, with the city, county and Center City Partners splitting the cost over two years.

The public can give input on the plan through a community workshop Oct. 21 at 5:30 p.m. at the Charlotte Convention Center. Two others will be held in April and August of 2010.