VISION DOWNTOWN SUMMARY REPORT May 2009

Transcription

1 VISION DOWNTOWN SUMMARY REPORT May 2009 Looking to the Future by preserving the past 1

2 Table of Contents Acknowledgements 3 Background 4 Visual Preference Survey o Overview 5 o Results 5 Façade/Structure Review o Overview 34 o Results 34 Land Use Exercise o Overview 42 o Results 42 2

3 Downtown Vision Session ATTENDEES Kathleen Allen Ken Chambers Elaine Davidson Frank Davidson Karen Esberger Pat Farrell Stephen Hidlebaugh Judy Howard Annetta Hughes Jerry Hughes Jason Kyle Nicole Kyle David Lister Renee McElheney Donna Mullins Hester Pender Richard Reno Tammy Reno Kathy Robinson Mary Rustin Linda Sanders Tony Sanders Jim Webb Boyce Whatley Carla Wilson STAFF John Garfield, AICP Planning Director Alberto Mares, AICP Current Planning Manager Ryan Spencer, AICP Comprehensive Planning Manager Kathleen Hamilton Assistant to the Planning Director 3

4 Background Midlothian has changed tremendously in the one-hundred and sixty years since the founding families first settled the area. New transportation routes, the cement and cotton industries and the entrepreneurial spirit have attracted new residents. One aspect that has not changed is the downtown as the center of the Midlothian community. Downtown Midlothian is the beating heart of our community. It is where people, shop, dine, work and recreate. The EnVision Midlothian 2025 Comprehensive Plan makes special mention of downtown and its importance in helping maintain the small town feel of Midlothian by creating quality of place. Quality of place refers to the idea that in order for cities to succeed economically they must provide an attractive environment to new and old residents. The preservation and economic viability of downtown Midlothian is a major cornerstone of the quality of place of this community. Staff has been working since 2008 to further the vision for downtown Midlothian and answer the question, What does downtown want to be when it grows up? In order to answer that question staff developed a four point plan. 1: The Vision What do we want downtown to be when it grows up? 2: Improvements What physical improvements are needed? 3: Standards What standards are needed to preserve the character of downtown? 4: Incentives What incentives should be offered to help implement the vision? Staff began the process of answering the question, What do we want downtown to be when it grows up by first meeting with the most affected stakeholders, the downtown business owners. Staff had several meetings with the Downtown Business Association to discuss the plan. On March 31, 2009 a downtown walk-about was held. Attendees made note of the various strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that related to the downtown. It was decided after the walk-about that a larger public meeting was in order. There were three goals for this meeting. The first goal was to establish consensus on what architecture and streetscaping elements would be appropriate for downtown in the future. The second goal was to generate comment and opinion on the current downtown buildings and streetscaping elements. The third and final goal was to generate comment and opinion on the physical layout of the downtown area and to give thought to future development within the core. In order to achieve these three goals three separate exercises were constructed. 4

5 VISUAL PREFERENCE SURVEY Exercises A visual preference survey was utilized to generate consensus on a range of elements that pertain to downtown. Attendees, as one group, were shown 54 images for ten seconds at a time. The attendee would rank each image on a scale of -3 to +3 in terms of preference. The images that were shown covered the following subject areas: Signage Facades/Building Designs Landscaping/Streetscaping Lighting Public Information Parking Public Art RESULTS The following is a summary of the results of the visual preference survey. Signage In the area of signage participants agreed that a historic-based look was best and that any colors used should be neutral or earth toned. Attendees were critical of large signage that tended to dominate the façade of a building. They were also in agreement that multiple signs that gave the impression of clutter were not acceptable. The idea of a street banner/arch in the downtown area was not received positively. Facades/Building Designs Attendees agreed that building facades should have a historic appearance in the downtown area. Bright colors and modern architecture scored very poorly. Landscaping/Streetscaping Participants had an overall positive response for landscaping elements downtown. There was agreement that simple landscaping beds and flower pots would be best. The slides that were dominated by various different types of landscaping elements received mixed or low scores. The message was clear that too much landscaping would detract from the downtown area. Lighting Historic lighting elements received the highest scores from participants. Modern lighting elements scored poorly as did the standard cobra-head lighting elements that are currently in place downtown. 5

6 Public Information Citizens, overall, felt that public information kiosks are not suitable for Midlothian s downtown. The general nature of the comments was that public information kiosks and signage is more appropriate for a larger city. Small, basic signage that provides directional information received a positive response. Attendees also made a clear choice that a uniform standard for newspapers and other print media was preferred over individual receptacles. Parking In the area of parking consensus was reached that angled parking spaces, as is currently found downtown, is preferred over parallel parking. Any form of parking meter or kiosk scored poorly. Finally, the response for large surface parking lots and elevated parking structures was mixed. Public Art Participants were highly favorable toward water features, building art/murals and memorials/statues. In terms of interactive or interpretative art the response was mixed with high positive and high negatives. 6

7 Great Marker for Historic District Signage Looks Like Vegas Too Gaudy Too Much Too Las Vegas Please rate the following district identification signage Great Marker Signage Please rate the following district identification signage 7

8 Signage OK Except For Yellow Sign Yellow Sign Not So Good Please rate the following building signage Signage Add More Signs Please rate the following building signage 8

9 Signage Please rate the following building signage Signage Awnings Needed Too Much Too Big Please rate the following building signage 9

10 Great, Historic Yeah! Signage Please rate the following building signage Good, Nice Iron Signage Please rate the following building signage 10

11 Banner-OK Signage Do Not Care For Banner Please rate the following signage Signage Nice, Hard To Read Please rate the following signage 11

12 Facade Please rate the following façade elements Facade Granbury TX - Good Please rate the following façade elements 12

13 Nice Facade Needs Paint Needs Work Please rate the following façade elements Facade Awnings? Bad Colors Bad Color Choices Too Much Color Colors Too Much Color Please rate the following façade elements 13

14 Facade OK, Except For Building On The Left Good Detailing Signs Needed Please rate the following façade elements Facade Boring, Too Busy Too Random, No Continuity Please rate the following façade elements 14

15 Facade Too Modern Please rate the following façade elements Nice! Landscaping/Streetscaping Please rate the following landscaping/streetscape elements 15

16 Good, Modern? Landscaping/Streetscaping Too Much? Please rate the following landscaping/streetscape elements Nice! Neat and Clean Landscaping/Streetscaping Over Done Please rate the following landscaping/streetscape elements 16

17 Bicycle Parking Landscaping/Streetscaping Please rate the following landscaping/streetscape elements OK Landscaping/Streetscaping Too Many Trees Please rate the following landscaping/streetscape elements 17

18 Great Active Landscaping/Streetscaping Like The Benches Like The Lamps, Benches And Green Over Done Too Many Trees Please rate the following landscaping/streetscape elements Nice Landscaping/Streetscaping Too Sterile Too Narrow Please rate the following landscaping/streetscape elements 18

19 Lighting Nice Lamps, Could Use Some Green Too Boring Could Use More Decoration Please rate the following lighting elements Nice Lighting Right Combination Please rate the following lighting elements 19

20 Nice Lighting Too Gaudy Too Ornate Please rate the following lighting elements Lighting Too Modern Please rate the following lighting elements 20

21 Lighting Boring Bleh! Please rate the following lighting elements Great, Inviting Pretty Lighting Please rate the following lighting elements 21

22 Nice, Attractive Public Information Please rate the following public information elements Good Public Information Nice, But For Larger Town Please rate the following public information elements 22

23 Public Information Modern, Not Historic Too Big City Nice, But For Larger Town Please rate the following public information elements Nice Public Information Nice, But For Larger Town Too Big Please rate the following public information elements 23

24 Public Information Very Cool London Feel Nice, But For Larger Town Too New York Please rate the following public information elements Public Information Bad Please rate the following public information elements 24

25 Good Design Cleaner Public Information Please rate the following public information elements Parking Meters Limits Customers Please rate the following parking elements 25

26 No Meters Parking Meters Please rate the following parking elements Parallel Parking OK Where Needed Don t Like Please rate the following parking elements 26

27 Better Angled Parking Please rate the following parking elements Surface Parking Lot Not So Nice, No Trees Ugly Please rate the following parking elements 27

28 Cool, But Modern Facade Parking Garage Ugly Larger City Please rate the following parking elements Parking Good Idea - Green Larger City Please rate the following parking elements 28

29 Modern in Design Public Art Too Modern Waste Please rate the following public art elements Excellent Public Art Waste Please rate the following public art elements 29

30 OK Public Art OK If It Relates To Town/Area OK If For Events Only Please rate the following public art elements Cool, Historic Good Public Art Please rate the following public art elements 30

31 Nice Like McElheney Building Good Public Art Don t Like Fake Windows Please rate the following public art elements Public Art Cute Good, If Animals Are Appropriate to Texas Please rate the following public art elements 31

32 Nice Public Art Dangerous For Kids Please rate the following public art elements OK Public Art Like Midlothian s Bollards, Chess Pieces Better Please rate the following public art elements 32

33 Nice OK, If Appropriate For Town Public Art Please rate the following public art elements Great OK, If Appropriate For Town Public Art Too Large For Our Area Please rate the following public art elements 33

34 FAÇADE/STRUCTURE REVIEW The façade/structure review exercise utilized large print outs of each side of 8 th street. Attendees were asked to comment on what they liked and did not like about the current facades located on Eighth Street. Green and red sticky dots were used to help emphasize opinion and drawing on the photographs was encouraged. Opinion was also generated about streetscaping elements and the types of businesses that should be located downtown. RESULTS The following is a summary of the results of the façade/structure review. The participants were split into two groups. Each group spent minutes at either the Land Use Exercise or the Facade/Structure Review before switching. In general the comments of both groups that participated in the Façade/Structure Review were similar. Attendees felt that the awnings and signage of buildings should be uniform in nature in order to beautify downtown. Both groups also felt that there should be more retail opportunities downtown and that under utilized structures, such as the John Few and Lawson Furniture Building should be renovated and re-occupied. Participants also agreed that more landscaping is needed downtown. A popular idea among the two groups was the idea of placing large landscaping pots at the four corners of the intersection of 8 th Street and Avenue F in order to beautify it and make it more pedestrian-friendly. Another similar idea would be to install flower pots along any existing railing. Numerous comments were made with respect to the architecture of two specific buildings; the building where Cash-N-Go Pawn is located and the building where Bar B- Que Junction is located. Attendees made note that those two building both anchor an intersection and are highly visible to traffic. The architecture and building materials of the two structures is not similar to the other buildings located downtown. Many participants acknowledged and commented that the two buildings in question need to be updated to match the historic nature of the downtown block. For more specific comments please see the next page. 34

35 Comments 1 st Group Façade/Structure Exercise GENERAL Building awnings should be of a consistent material and at the same level Brick buildings should not be painted Building signage should be of a decorative nature Retail businesses should be encouraged to have store displays to promote window shopping Window blinds need to go with the building in terms of color Trash cans and newspaper boxes need to be of a clean, uniform design Ave F and Main Street intersection is dangerous for pedestrians (speeding vehicles) We need to have a better form of traffic calming 8 th STREET EAST SIDE Need for Landscaping (ex: planters) at corner of intersection Awning of RE/MAX building is not consistent with type and quality of other building awnings Awning of Whispers Boutique building is too high The awnings of the Spa Vita, Edward Jones Investments, Campuzanos and The Flower Shoppe are very nice The cobra head style street lights need to be replaced with more decorative street lights like those found on North 8 th street There needs to be better access from the Back Alley Plaza. Maybe convert one of the interior buildings (Ex: John Few) into a open air dining/coffee area that can serve as a cut-through 1 st floor windows need to be open and clear so that pedestrians can view inside and also for safety purposes. Too much signage in store windows is a negative Windows should not be painted King Pools & Bar B-Que Junction building façade is outdated and does not match the quality and spirit of other buildings John Few Building needs to be utilized instead of sitting empty 8 th STREET WEST SIDE The 2 nd floor of the Lawson Building has the potential to be converted to residential lofts Concrete stairs to sidewalk should be painted to improve appearance The railing along the sidewalk needs to be upgraded in terms of quality and design The cobra head style street lights need to be replaced with more decorative street lights like those found on North 8 th street The projecting signs at Wong s Express and Cash-N-Go Pawn are not appropriate The 2 nd floor façade of the Coldwell Banker Building is very nice in terms of the architectural details and windows The Cash-N-Go Pawn Building does not match the facades of other downtown buildings and is not appropriate 35

36 Comments 2 nd Group Façade/Structure Exercise GENERAL Need for Landscaping (ex: planters) at corner of intersection Add architectural features/designs (stars) to 2 nd story of various buildings to create a more engaging façade Sidewalk railing needs to be replaced, consider adding flower boxes Consider construction of elevators behind buildings that can be accessed via a common corridor Construct recessed third floor loft apartments on top of existing buildings. This would create density and allow for rooftop patio use 8 th STREET EAST SIDE Restore an old water tower and place in front of Old Fire House (Midlothian symbol) Uncover Windows that are currently hidden (Ex. John Few Building has covered windows with sheet metal) Place a skirt on the Whispers Boutique Building awning Place Scaffolding Signs atop certain buildings The Bar B-Que Junction Building is too modern 8 th STREET WEST SIDE 2nd Floor of the Lawson Building could be converted to residential apartments The A/C unit on the Lawson Building should be removed The modern windows on the Lawson Building should be replaced with windows more of the era of the building The concrete stairs should be spruced up with flower boxes or other elements Signs should not cover the decorative brick work of the buildings (Ex. Retreat Salon and Spa). Signs should mimic the narrow Tony Sanders Real Estate sign and be placed just above the windows The blank/bare facades of Kim and Jenny s Restaurant and Wong s Express should be more architecturally detailed Projecting signs should be removed and replaced with more historical building signs (Ex. Wong s Express) 36

37 Re-Imagined Downtown The following four pages show a before and after view of both the east side and west side of 8 th Street. The before photos are tagged with comments made by participants at the exercise. The after photos reflect the changes requested by the participants. 37

38 Too much signage Too modern 8th Street - Looking East 38 Light pole needs to have historic look Uncover windows/new awning Windows should not be painted New awning Too High, Not Consistent Needs landscaping Building not utilized

39 Landscaping along railing Renovated brick facade 8th Street - Looking East 39 Storefront awnings at consistent level New first floor retail Uniform newspaper stands Historic streetlight with flower pots Landscaping pots

40 Remove projecting sign 8th Street - Looking West 40 A/C Unit should be removed Signs are too high Light pole needs to have historic look Install a railing of higher quality Stairs need to renovated Place landscaping boxes along railing Replace with uniform newspaper stand

41 Renovated brick facade Landscaping pots Landscaping along railing 8th Street - Looking West 41 Storefront awnings at consistent level New first floor retail New sign placement Outdoor dining Historic streetlight with flower pots Uniform newspaper stands

42 LAND USE EXERCISE The Land Use Exercise presented participating citizens with a large aerial map of downtown. Citizens were asked to determine what land uses would be appropriate within the downtown area, without respect to current land uses, potential costs, ownership, or location. This exercise was carried out with participants being given two sets of sticky dots each with the colors blue, red, green and yellow. Blue represented office uses; red represented commercial and retail uses, green represented parks or passive open space, and yellow represented residential uses (i.e. townhomes, lofts, etc.). RESULTS The exercise started out with an overview of downtown, focusing more on the areas between North 7 th Street to the railroad and Main Street to Avenue E. A few of the ideas that participants discussed as they were placing their sticky dots on the aerial view were the following: The placement of a new government town center and possibly a parking garage in the vacant land behind and adjacent to Fire Station No. 1 (although the idea of a parking garage seemed split between the participants). Incorporating more green space within the downtown area Keeping the existing angled parking Providing additional parking along the east side of 8 th Street in front of Fire Station No. 1 by Heritage Park Providing additional parking in Back Alley Plaza Providing additional parking along 7 th Street either parallel or angled (angled preferred during survey) More lighting in Back Alley Plaza Farmers Markets or Museum along the railroad Expanding Heritage Park eastward if City Hall is ever relocated The prevailing theme from this exercise was to implement a mixed use component within downtown with either retail and office uses & retail and residential uses, with the office and residential uses only allowed on the second floor. The idea to promote more residential uses within downtown was evident as several participants placed yellow dots in the area that currently houses the mini-warehouses just to the east of City Hall and expressed that townhomes would be ideal for that location and if Heritage Park were to expand, then it would serve as a great transition into the rest of the downtown area. Retail & residential uses were prevalent suggestions along both sides West Avenue F between 6 th and 8 th Streets. Along 7 th Street, the participants kept reiterating that they wanted to see some kind redevelopment activity to occur in both large buildings owned by Mr. Lawson and had various suggestions such as office, entertainment centers, farmers market, skating rink, residential lofts, and retail uses. These buildings have sat vacant for many years. 42

43 The idea of a passenger rail station along the existing railroad lines was received with mixed reaction from the majority of the participants with a few negative comments made about extending public transportation into Midlothian. The prevailing idea for this area was a museum to house and store Midlothian s artifacts and a farmer s market area, but the problem with those two right now would be the location of parking areas for visitors. The idea of a new government center in the undeveloped land behind existing Fire Station No. 1 generated several comments. The incorporation of a parking garage into a new City Hall was met with reservations. Many expressed concerns over the need for a parking garage within downtown especially given its cost, although there were many comments about the lack of parking within downtown especially during lunch and dinner times and during the weekend breakfast and lunch hours. To provide more parking spaces, 7 th Street could be striped to allow angled parking spaces on both sides at almost no cost as the pavement already exists. Temporary parking could be provided on the undeveloped lots located the northwest and northeast corners of 7 th St and Avenue D. If city hall is relocated, the participants wanted to see more green space within downtown, whether it be by expanding Heritage Park to the east or providing more linear green space to connect downtown to the surrounding residential neighborhood. The current city hall could then be sold for retail and office opportunities and allow additional relief parking during peak hours. There was little comment about land uses along the north side of Avenue E, though one interesting observation made after plotting out sticky dots for the desired land uses on the map was the preference for pushing office uses to the outer limits of downtown, especially along the north side of Avenue E and the western side of 7 th Street. One comment that was brought up afterwards by a participant was the lack of benches within the downtown area. Currently, there is no place to sit within downtown or Heritage Park, which makes it less inviting to spend time and relax. One participant stated this was the only thing that was missing from the visual preference survey. 43

44 N 6th N 7th h N 8th N 10th W Ave E Sewell Downtown Vision Exercise - Site Planning 44 E Ave E City Hall Complex/Parking Garage Expanded Parking Additional Angle Parking E Ave F Expand Heritage Park E Main Street Retail Entertainment/Skate Rink Farmer's Market/Museum Residential Office Green Space