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HomeMy WebLinkAbout5A - Update on status of Downtown Boulder Mall Master PlanPARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT "~^ March 17, 2000 .... MEMORANDUM To: Pazks and Recreation Advisory Boazd Members From: Chris Dropmski, Duector, Parks and Recreation Douglas Hawthorne, Pazks Superintendent Molly Miller Winter, Downtown and Universiry Hill Management Division, Parldng Sernces Re: Item for Discussion Update on Status of Downtown Bouider Mall Master Plan Dunng the Mazch 27, 2000 meeting of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, Molly Miller Winter of the Downtown and Umversity I3'ill Management Division will be presenting to the PRAB an update to the Master Plan for the Downtown Boulder Mall Attached is a copy of the City Council Agenda Item which was sent to City Council on Mazch 7, 2000 A copy of the ZO page Conceptual Design RepoR referenced m the Council Agenda Item will be available for anyone who wishes to see the detail Molly will be bnngmg to the PRAB meeting the Ma11 Master Plan drawmgs r ~ Attachment City Council Agenda Item - Mazch 7, 2000 ~ d... Attachment A CITY OF BOULDER r~ CTTY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM ~ MEETING DATE: March 7. 2000 Agenda Item Preparation Date: (February 28. 2000) AGF.NDA TITLE: Update on Status of Downtown Boulder Mall Master Plan REQUESTING DEPARTMENT: Ronald Secrist, City Manager Presenter: Molly Miller R'inter, Downtown and University Hill Management Division, Parking Services FISCAL IMPACT: To be determined. PURPOSE: The purpose of tlris item is to update Ciry Council on the progress of the Downtown Boulder ~ Mall Master Plan, present the conceptual design and outline next steps. BACKGROUND: During the 20th anniversary of the Downtown Boulder Mall in 1997, it became apparent that while the Downtown Boulder Mall has grown to become one of the most successfui pedestrian malls in the country, it lacked a plan and a budget to address both major maintenance items and capital replacement, as well as an anatysis of how the mall design was actually functioning after twenty yeazs. The Downtown Management Commission undertook a pmactive effort to develop a Mall Master Plan to insure its success in years to come. The public investment in the mall is integral to its success. ANALYSIS• An assemblage of the origiaal design firms - OZ Architecture, Communication Arts, RRC, Art Everett and Stu Dawson fmm Sakasi Dawson - was selected to be the team to develop a conceptual design plan A collaboration of CDR and Henderson and Associates was selected to assist with the public pmcess component. The Mall Master Plan pmject charge was to prepaze a conceptual design to impmve and energize the function, experience and appearance of the Downtown Boulder Mall. The scope of the project was divided into an inventory and schedule of items needing maintenance and secondly recommendadons for impmvements and/or changes that build upon the existing ,,.~., pmven strengths of the Mall. ALso, We pmject required cost estimates and phasing plan. ~ AGENDA 1TEM # Pa¢e 1 Farly on in the design process, the following two areas of the mall emerged as needing attention: .~+., • The ends of the Mall at llth and 15th Streets During the 20th anniversary celebration, the original designers gathered to critique the mall design in light of its use over 20 years. One of the ovemding comments was that when the mall was designed 25 years ago, the ends of the mall were purposely designed to be "book ends," creating a visual stopping point, focusing attention interior to the mall. These "book end" elements include the concrete bus barrier, the bus shelter, the large pine trees and configuration of newspaper boxes and planters. Now, 25 years later, the urban design context and the street level retail environment has changed, the success on the mall has spread to Pearl Street on both the east and west end. The feedback we have consistently received fmm the merchants just off the mall is that pedestrian trafFic comes to the end of the mall, turns around and continues back down the mall. A key goal of the plan was to create a gateway - both onto the mall, as well as fmm the mall into west and east Pearl. This would be aclueved by removing the existing bus pull outs, expanding the mall to the curb line and enhancing the pedestrian crossings at l lth and 15th. • 1300 Block In 1996, Boulder County embazked on a$300,000-$400,000 renovation of the Courthouse Lawn area. The work the County undertook made vast impmvements in the lawn area, creating additional seating, impmved circulation, continuation of the sandstone paving, bu~lding lighting, restoration of the Lion's foundation, and the re-establishment of the historic site boundary with the construction of a wall/fence sepuating the lawn fmm the mall ~' substantially increasing the amount of mall brick area. At the time, the City of Boulder worked very closely with the County on the redesign; however, the City did not have the funding in place to implement major design changes on the mall portion of the 1300 block to suit the pmgram needs of the space. Thus, the current configurntion of the mall was not the result of a well-thought-out plan, but rather an intermediate solution in response to the County's major redesign effort. The 1300 Block is different in character fmm all the other blocks of the mall. It is the one area with the space and configuration for major public gatherings: whether it is focal point for fest~vals, rallies or pmtests. As well, the 1300 block of the mall, in conjunction with the courthouse lawn, is the symbolic center of our community; the public plaza, the "living mom" of our city. In addition, it is the area for food vending carts and informal seating for lunches during the summer. The openness of the block and We adjacent courthouse lawn are complementary aspects and combine to make it the ideal spot for community events. Fleubility of use is key. The 1300 Block is also the only block without a feature to attiact families or children. The current conceptual design is an attempt to meet these pmgrammatic needs. The trellis element is designed to pmvide necessary shade with a minimum impact on views to the courthouse. The popyet water feature - similar in concept to the one ia Aspen - is designed to be a pazticipatory and interactive attraction for families and children. In that regard, it is very '"", AGENDA ITEM lf Pa¢e 2 dis-similar to the Lions fountain which is a monument and icon, not meant for public ~~""'~ inteiaction. The pop jet water feature is not proposed to have a major three-dimensional ``" aspect. In fact, the purpose is the opposite: to provide for flearibility of use. For example, during the winter months, the area could be used for events ]ike the temporary ice rink. . It is important to realize that the Mall Conceptual Design Plan effects changes to very specific areas, and that the major portion of the mall remains untouched. For e~mple, the oaly change proposed for the 1200 Block is the replacement of the bridge in the childrens' play area. While the Plan recommended looking at changing the direction of the Mall traffic loop; at tYris time staff is not recommending pmceeding with Nus change. The concept will be forwarded to the Transportation Division for further consideration. PUBLIC COMMENT AND PROCESS: In order to facilitate public input into the mall master plan process, an Advisory Committee was formed which acted both as input for the design as well as disiminator of information back to the various boards and organizations. The committee included three representatives fmm City Council (Mock, Corson, Eldridge) and representatives from city advisory committees: Planning Board, Landmarks Preservation Board, Downtown Management Commission, Downtown Design Advisory Board, Parks Boazd; and from Downtown Boulder Inc. (both staff and board), and Historic Boulder and a mall vendor, 7onathan F.rankaa~, ,4]so, Molly ~~~,,,, Tayer attended the meetings as a communicadon link to the surrounding neighborhoods. See Attachment A for a specific listing of the pazticipants. Mall Advisory Committee meetings were held on the following dates and were all publicly noticed: Apri19, 1999 June 3, 1999 7uly 15, 1999 October 7, 1999 City staff, Molly Winter, Downtown and University Hill Management Division and Parking Services, Doug Hawthome, Parks Superintendent and Chazles Zucker fmm the Planning Department, worked with the design team. In addit~on, there were three public meetings wtuch were held throughout the course of the pmject to solicit community input at the various stages of the design process. These meetings were held on: May 12, 1999 June 16, 1999 7uly 28, 1999. Also a presentation was made at a special meeting of the Downtown Alliance on 7uly 24, 1999. Regular updates were made at the Downtown Management Commission meetings. ..^,- ,~ AGENDA ITEM J/ Pase 3 On October 19, staff presented the plan to the Boulder County Commissioners. Their comments and interest was focused on the 1300 Block. Their feedback was: do not remove ""'+ trees, the pop jet fountain was in conflict with the Lion's fountain, the trellis elemem wwld inhibit views of the Courthouse and was not appropriate, the 1300 Block of the mall should focus on the Courthouse, and the proposal to enhance the mall restrooms was positive. The final Conceptual Design Report was received by the Downtown Management Commission in December 1999. A Weekly Information Packet memorandum was sent to City Council on December 17, which also included the report. The plan and diawings were placed on the Downtown Management Commission web site for appm~dmately one month, until7anuary 21, 2000. A special joint board meeting was held on 7anuary 24, 2000, representatives fmm all the city advisory boards were invited, DDAB, DMC, Planning, Parks and Landmazks. The purpose of this meeting was two fold: first to discuss and review board comments on the design, and second, to discuss the public review process and mles of the various boards, especially given the recent declaradon of the downtown mall area as an historic district. See Attachment B for a synopsis of the meeting. On February 3, 2000, the Mall Master Plan was presented to the Boulder County Historic Preservation Commission meeting. Their comments were: the focus of the 1300 block should be on the Courthouse; the pian should respect the azt deco design of the courthouse; the plan should respect the historic Lion's fountain; a popyet fountain is not appmpriate to the 1300 block; and trees are the preferred shade element, not a trellis. ~ a On February 7, 2000, the Downtown Management Commission held a public hearing to recommend to City Council the Downtown Boulder Mall Master Plan conceptual design, proceeding with the final design phase and options for plan implementation. In addition to the regular notice in the Sunday News from City Hall 5ection, we also ran an ad in the Sunday paper on January 20th noticing the DMC meeting on February 7th and the Landmarks Preservation Board Meeting on February 22, 2000. At the DMC public hearing, one member of the public spoke: Karl Anuta (a member of the Bouider County Historic Preservation Advisory Boazd) asked the Board to be cogaizant of the public art on the Court Aouse lawn, specifically the statues; to be sensitive to the lustoric nature of the Court House; and expressed wncern about anything that might detrect fmm the Liod s Fountain. The Downtown Management Commission unanimously supported the following modon: To recommend that the Mall Master Plan proceed to the next design stage wtth the understanding that the Mall Master Plan Advisory Committee continue to participate tn the design phase and that cenain aspects of the design need further development and consideration. These tnclude: • the 1300 block design, in pamcular the fountain and trellis elements • the arch element of the gateway feature • the method of and implementation of the building lighting '""~ AGENDA ITEM # Page 4 • the management of the outdoor earing areas. ~ The DMC recommends that the Mall Master Plwe be implemented simultaneously rather than in a phased manner over multiple years, and thus requests that the furais for the total project be loaned from the CYty of Boulder and repaid annually from the Downtown Management Commission budget. On Febmary 22, 2000, the Landmarks Preservation Advisory Board held a public hearing on the issuance of an alteration certificate for the Downtown Boulder Mall Conceptual Design. One member of the public spoke, Eimer Zessin representing Historic Boulder president Margaret Hansen who said: that the trellis and fountain pmposals for the 1300 block favor increased commercial use; the 1300 block is the block for governmental and public use; the trellis would biock views of the Courthouse; and thus they appose the trellis and fountain structures. Historic Boulder dces support the outdoor eating areas on the 1100 and 1400 blocks. The Landmazks Board appmved the following: Conditional approval of the akernation certificate which specifically excludes the 1300 block and the proposal for building lighting. The condirions of approval are: • that nvo members fo the Lana'rnarks Board connnue to participate in the Mall Master Plan Advisory Committee; • that a11 final details shall be reviewed and approved by the Landmarks Design Review Commiaee • that the Landmarks Design Review Committee shall refer a~ry aspects of the final ,. design that are significantly di„~`'erent than currently proposed to the full ~,,W Landmarks Board for a public hearing. Specifically, if the outdoor eating area contains a significant structure, the final design shall be referred to the full Landmarks Board for a public hearing and final approval • that arry changes not included in this application should be reviewed and approved by the full Landmarks Board at a public hearing. These include, but are not Zimited to: design of the 1300 block, building lighting and public restrooms. In addition, the Landmarks Board made comments on parts of the plan wltich were not included in the alteration certificate, including • conceptual support for a pop jet fountain/water feature • conceptual support for a trellis design, however they cautioned that the execution of the final trellis design was extremely important and recommended adding trees to the 1300 Block conceptually supported the building lighting concept but were very concemed about how the fmal design was executed, particularly how the lights would be attached to the buildings. Overall, the public input has been positive. The treatment of the 1300 block - specifically the replacement of trees with a trellis structure, and the inclusion of a pop-jet water feature - have received the most negadve public comment, specifically from the Boulder County '"'"' Commissioners, the Boutder County Historic Preservarion Advisory Board and Historic ,~ AGENDA PfEM /t Page 5 Boulder. Another comment was concem about replacement of grass with outdoor eating areas, however, there has also been positive public input on adding public outdoor eating areas. And ~ finally, there has been several comments questioning the inappropriateness of the arch element on the entry gateway feature. There has been an almost universal expression of support to maintain the unique chancter of the mall; preserving its patina. NEXT STEPS. Staff will: • submit a request for pmposals for the next design phase and ]vre a design £um to complete the design and produce working drawings. • work with the selected design firm and Mall Master Plan Advisory Committee to address the concems and issues expressed during the last several months of public comment. The focus will be on the 1300 block and how best to design for the pmgrammatic needs considering the concems of the community and the county. • analyze the pmject budget and develop a financing plan wlrich will include a request to borrow funds fmm the City of Boulder for implementation to be repaid through an annual payment fmm the DMC budget. Also, staff wffi eacplore opportunikies for public/private partnersiups for some of the impmvements. • at the appmpriate design stage, seek approvals from the Landmarks staff or Board. • develop an unplementation plan which is coordinated with the downtown business communiry. ~ STAFF RECOMMENDATION: ~~ Staff recommends that the Mall Master Plan continue to the neact design stage, focusing particular attention on refining and adapting the 1300 block design to the needs of the community at large and considering the concerns of the County, the building mounted lighting design and the nature of the entry features at both ends of the mall. Staff will return to City Council with a proposed financing plan. Approved By: Ronald A. Secrist City Manager ATTACHMENTS: A. Mall Master Plan Concept Design Report B. Mall Master Plan drawings C. List of Advisory Committee D. Notes from joint boazd meeting 7anuary 25, 2000 E. Project Chronology .,+, AGENDA 1TEM N Paee 6