VIA Architecture completed a Sub Area Plan for the City of Bremerton's downtown urban core to further this area's dramatic reinvention. The Sub Area Plan delivers both high quality design of public and private space and a future land-use mix that will make the city livable for generations to come. The plan's chapters define land-use policy through new form-based, context-sensitive development standards, incentive zoning and street typologies. The plan acts as a guide to achieve the city's preferred patterns of development, detailing bulk, scale, massing and public space design guidelines by district. The Sub Area Plan also contains base plans for downtown circulation and parking as well as strategic actions to encourage economic development.

This refined vision for the downtown area, including the downtown waterfront, has been crafted through a community involvement process with multiple stakeholder meetings and open houses. The final report includes an implementation program identifying responsible parties assigned to various actions, a timeline for implementation and, where applicable, potential funding sources.

VIA Architecture won the State of Washington Smart Communities Award for the Downtown Bremerton Sub-Area Plan in 2008.