HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 01 Downtown Plaza and Library Designs and Impacts AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY Meeting Date: 12/2/2013
Meeting Type: Work Session
Staff Contact/Dept.: Courtney Griesel, CMO Jim Polston, DPW
Staff Phone No: 541-736-7132
Estimated Time: 45 Minutes S P R I N G F I E L D
C I T Y C O U N C I L
Council Goals: Community and
Economic Development and Revitalization
ITEM TITLE: DOWNTOWN PLAZA(S) AND LIBRARY DESIGNS AND IMPACTS
ACTION
REQUESTED: Staff desires to use this time to discuss key concepts of plazas and the link to
other important projects in Downtown, gaining general insight on Council’s
feeling regarding staff recommendations and progress thus far and into the future. Specifically, staff would like Council’s consensus on the proposed project to explore low cost improvements to the Carter Building parking lot
for public open space use. Additionally, staff would like to confirm
Council’s support in moving forward in building the City Hall Plaza as
illustrated in this packet.
ISSUE STATEMENT: Staff desires to use this time to discuss key concepts of plazas and the link
to other important projects in Downtown, gaining general insight on
Council’s feeling regarding staff recommendations and progress thus far and
into the future. Specifically, staff would like Council’s consensus on the
proposed project to explore low cost improvements to the Carter Building
parking lot for public open space use. Additionally, staff would like to
confirm Council’s support in moving forward in building the City Hall Plaza
as illustrated in this packet.
ATTACHMENTS: 1. Downtown Plaza(s) and Library Designs and Impacts Memo
2. Revised City Hall Plaza & Entry Design 3. Downtown Preliminary Project Timeline Comparisons
DISCUSSION/ FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Staff are currently working on several key projects in the Downtown area;
Acquisition and development of Mill Plaza, research into the development of
a new library facility, and design and upgrades to the City Hall Plaza and
entryway area. Additionally, during the April 22nd Council Work Session,
Council asked staff to consider the addition of an open space park or plaza
on the site of the current Carter Building.
This memo will attempt to assemble information specific to Mill Plaza,
Library design needs, a Carter Building area plaza and parking lot upgrades,
and the City Hall Plaza and entry upgrades including. Information will
include discussions on:
• Possible Carter Building Parking Lot Upgrades to Create Flexible
Open Space
• Principles of a Successful Plaza & Mill Plaza
• Library Design & Timing
• Exploration of a Carter Building Area Plaza; Timing & Costs; and
• Designs and Timing of City Hall Plaza & Entry Upgrades
ATTACHMENT 1, Page 1 of 4
M E M O R A N D U M City of Springfield
Date: December 2, 2013
To: Gino Grimaldi, City Manager
From: Courtney Griesel, Senior Management Analyst
Jim Polston, Project Manager
Rob Everett, Library Director
Subject: DOWNTOWN PLAZA(S) AND LIBRARY DESIGNS AND IMPACTS
ISSUE:
In the three years since the Downtown District Urban Design Plan and Implementation Strategy adoption
(September 2010), staff has worked to progress key Plan recommendations and projects. With limited
funds, it is important that priority projects are envisioned and developed strategically and with clarity of
the impact one project may have on another. At this time, staff is examining the impacts of the Mill Plaza
development, Library development, City Hall Plaza and entryway improvements, and a potential Carter
Building plaza.
BACKGROUND:The Downtown District Urban Design Plan and Implementation Strategy was adopted
in September 2010 to identify the desired physical design features intended to create a practical
framework for 21st century development and public and private investment. Since its adoption, City staff
has used the District Plan as a guiding document for prioritizing projects and use of available Downtown
urban renewal dollars, and will be incorporated into the Downtown Refinement Plan.
Staff are currently working on several key projects in the Downtown area; Acquisition and development
of Mill Plaza, research into the development of a new library facility, and design and upgrades to the City
Hall Plaza and entryway area. Additionally, during the April 22nd Council Work Session, Council asked
staff to consider the addition of an open space park or plaza on the site of the current Carter Building.
This memo will attempt to assemble information specific to Mill Plaza, Library design needs, a Carter
Building area plaza,the City Hall Plaza and entry upgrades, and a proposed Carter Building parking lot
upgrade which would generate flexible public space.
DISCUSSION: Over the last several years, Springfield has seen an exciting level of growth and
investment in Downtown. In an effort to maintain and grow this momentum staff proposes to explore a
project to install low cost amenities and aesthetic upgrades to the current Carter building parking lot for
uses like food cart or truck parking during certain windows of time. Improvements might include
upgrades to electrical infrastructure and lighting, decorative banners or awnings, surface improvements
and enhanced landscaping. This type of project could provide a flexible outdoor space to the public for
numerous events and uses when not under parking utilization, without the full cost of a traditional plaza.
• Principles of a Successful Plaza - One of the primary catalytic projects identified by the District
Plan is the acquisition, design, and development of Mill Plaza. Because of Mill Plaza’s
significance to the vision of Downtown, its orientation to other public spaces should be
understood to maintain an effective strategy and prioritization of projects focused on
redevelopment.
Plazas are a feature of many successful downtowns and business districts, both historic (e.g.
Santa Fe, New Mexico) and revitalized (e.g., Portland’s Pioneer Square, Director Park and
Jamison Square, and downtown Hillsboro). A plaza can act as many things to a Downtown.
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While it can be a host for special events and large gatherings, it should still encompass a sense of
place and purpose during non-special event periods. For this reason, the density of buildings and
uses around a successful plaza are just as important as the design of the plaza itself. A vibrant,
active and welcoming mix of surrounding uses are essential to the success of open space and
demand strategic placement of any plaza or square. These uses will provide the plaza with a
population of daily consumers and employees utilizing the space. In this way, the open space
capitalizes on the surrounding neighborhood and the surrounding neighborhoods capitalize on the
amenity of the open space.
Mill Plaza: (Downtown District Urban Plan, 2010, pg. 14) – The Mill Plaza is identified as a
public catalyst project, essential to creating a positive downtown atmosphere, triggering
significant private development surrounding the plaza. The Implementation Strategy identified “Secure Mill Plaza Site” as a near-term action intended to preserve catalytic development options
for the future. Located between Main and North A Street and immediately west of Pioneer
Parkway West, the plaza project will eventually include property acquisition of 7 parcels, subsequent development of a hard-surface plaza park and a public/private partnership to develop
office and retail space to the north. Intended to serve as ‘Springfield’s civic living room’, Mill Plaza is envisioned to be active for 18
hours a day. The plaza’s proximity to Island Park is important in generating a direct pedestrian and bicycle connection between the river and existing Downtown uses, and to linking Downtown with expected development across the river in Glenwood. The location was identified by the
consultants as a “100 percent corner” with a sufficient traffic volume to support larger format retail uses. Development at this west end “anchor” location also supports the goal of creating a critical mass of at least 150,000 sq ft of new ground-floor retail on surrounding parcels. The
plaza’s location allows for the density of employment and retail uses to occur nearer to the river, drawing an important connection between Island Park, the new plaza uses, and existing historic
retail nearer to City Hall. This level of retail and office density is important to the success of the
plaza as an active and vibrant amenity in Downtown.
Project Status: Over the last 2 years, City staff has been working with owners of the 7 identified
parcels to explore options for property acquisition. Negotiations have been mostly successful,
allowing staff to explore assembly of funds. At this time, the acquisition of plaza property
remains the highest priority for use of Downtown Urban Renewal funds.
• Library Design – In 2011, the City Council approved including a new library facility in the
City’s Capital Improvement Plan. Although funding for this new facility has not yet been
identified, the project described a 58,000 sq. foot building. At this time, one half block directly adjacent to City Hall, under ownership of the City, has been identified as the likely future home
of the new Library. This site is the current home of the Carter Building and parking lot. As part
of the strategic approach to thinking about and planning for a new library for Springfield, city staff and library support groups have begun the process of imagining what an improved library
service and facility might look like. They have also been working toward securing the resources to facilitate this planning process. If the City determined to make the Library redevelopment a top priority for design and funding acquisition in the immediate future, under best case scenarios, a new Library facility might be designed, funded, and open to the public in summer of 2020.
Project Status: During the City’s 2011 Sustainable City Year partnership with the University of Oregon, students and faculty focused energy on working with Staff and national experts to
ATTACHMENT 1, Page 3 of 4
develop architectural designs and renderings of a 58,000 sq. foot library specific to the half block
currently home to the Carter building. In July 2012, utilizing some of the images generated by
students and significant work on the part of Library staff, the Library received a $20,000 planning grant from the Wichita Falls Area Community Foundation – Betsy Priddy Fund to further develop
a library design program with a consulting architecture firm.
Staff will be bringing the topic of the Springfield Library development to Council for discussion
in early 2014.
• Carter Area Plaza - During an April 2013 Council Work Session, Staff was asked to explore the
utilization of the current Carter Building site as a new plaza. In acknowledging the intended use
of the site for a future Library, Council indicated an interest in understanding the feasibility of
building both a temporary plaza and a plaza that might be integrated into the future Library
design.
Staff identified four main areas of focus related to the development of a Carter area plaza; Costs
related to development, timeline of development in relation to timeline of design and build for the
library, and intended purpose of the new plaza.
Costs: To construct a plaza on the current Carter Building site, several activities must occur. The
City must relocate the current tenant which includes costs of finding the tenant a new space and
appropriate lease rate structure and the remaining debt owed on the Carter Building would need
to be paid off. This pay-off comes with a decreasing pre-payment penalty. The building would
require demolition as well as design and construction of the new plaza. Below is an extremely
preliminary estimate on costs associated with the construction of any open space at the site of the
current Carter Building. Finally, due to the fact that there are several unknowns associated with
the timing, design and use of this site, a significant portion of the costs outlined below would
likely be interim in nature and simply lost once final decisions are made.
Required Task Cost
Relocation of Current Tenant(s) Unknown
Pre-Payment of Outstanding Property Debt (w/ penalty est.) 280,000
Demolition of Property 110,000
Plaza Design 10,000
Plaza Construction (south of alley only) 185,000
*Total Project Cost 585,000
*Does not include costs related to subsurface drainage improvements.
• City Hall Plaza and Entry Upgrades - Earlier this summer staff presented Council a project to
upgrade the appearance and functionality of the entry plaza at Springfield City Hall. Several priorities for the project were identified by the Council including;
o Update the appearance of City Hall’s aging plaza o Repair or replace damaged infrastructure and/or unsafe conditions o Improve and enhance the usability of this existing public space
o Create a more prominent and identifiable entry to City Hall o Be a part of the revitalization of Springfield’s downtown core
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Using $30,000 earmarked from the City’s Building Preservation fund and a $30,000 grant received
from CDBG, improvements to the plaza will be made using a creative mix of new elements laid in
with much of the existing elements, creating a more useable, vibrant public space. New surface materials, redesigned plantings, a place for recognizing important citizens, along with a more
prominent to entry to City Hall will have an immediate, positive impact on the downtown.
Two options were previously presented to Council for consideration. Both options contained
aspects which Council liked and Staff has since combined into the final design included in this packet. This updated concept addresses the below issues:
Maintains the concept of a Recognition Plaza area on the landing near the Library, and
includes a display about the history of City Hall.
Uses brass raised lettering (similar to the Justice Center) rather than the logo style sign as previously proposed.
Incorporates more composite lumber decking and reduces the quantities of synthetic lawn.
Keeps the plaza area as open as possible, with most of the trees toward the outer perimeter, while maintaining a separation between the plaza area and the “sidewalks.”
Keeps the rhino statue and the tiled art.
Provides space for more future art.
STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS AND NEXT STEPS:
Due to several issues, staff does not recommend the investment of City or SEDA funds into the
development of a plaza space on the current site of the Carter Building. These issues include:
• Costs related to; Repayment of debt on the building, loss of current and future tenants,
and relocation of tenants under contract.
• Costs to demolish building and construct plaza coupled with costs noted above would
require a significant adjustment in project priorities for Downtown. These funds are
currently earmarked for projects like Downtown lighting and demonstration block
improvements as well as Mill Plaza property acquisition.
• Timing of repayment, design and construction of a Carter area plaza would place the
completion of the project at the starting point of community conversations regarding the
funding of a new library facility on the very same site.
• Certainty in a new library facility program and design is not anticipated until the end of
the fourth year of the Library project, therefore any attempt to develop a Carter area plaza
to be salvaged and used as part of the new Library design would be premature and
potentially limiting to providing the Library with the best design needed.
ACTION REQUESTED:
Staff desires to use this time to discuss key concepts of plazas and the link to other important projects in
Downtown, gaining general insight on Council’s feeling regarding staff recommendations and progress
thus far and into the future. Specifically, staff would like Council’s consensus on the proposed project to
explore low cost improvements to the Carter Building parking lot for public open space use.
Additionally, staff would like to confirm Council’s support in moving forward in building the City Hall
Plaza as illustrated in this packet.
Synthetic Turf
New Trees
and landscape
New Trees
and landscape
Synthetic Turf
Composite Lumber
Existing Trees and Landscape
Parking
CITY HALL
Not to Scale
NORTH Plaza & Entry Upgrades at City Hall
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City Hall
S p ringfield
City Hall
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City Hall Plaza & Entry
Design & Bid Project
Construct
Carter Area Plaza
Pay of remaining debt on facility
Relocate tenants
Demolish Building
Design & Construct Plaza Space
Library Development
Staff team to incorporate facility and needs into
Downtown Plan
Community Task Force; gather service needs
information and make recommendation to
Council
Develop library program and cost (consultant)
Develop funding strategy: City resources, capital
campaign, other private partners
Select & hire architect: Comprehensive,
community, design process
Ground Breaking
Mill Plaza
Property Acquisition