|
July 2005
NYC-style park coming
to Third Ward
Public's ideas sought for green
space
DOUG SMITH
That four-year gleam in the eyes
of
Mecklenburg
elected officials -- a center-city park -- is finally becoming a reality.
The county has just awarded a
design contract for a park to be built in Third Ward. And, in just over
three weeks, the public will be asked for ideas on what to include on the
8.5 acres.
The site is bound by Second, Mint,
Graham and Fourth streets. It's what Tedd Duncan Jr., who's leading the
project for
Charlotte
's LandDesign, calls "a doughnut hole" waiting for the doughnut.
The park -- where activities could
range from tossing a Frisbee on a tranquil green to live concerts -- would
be the center, or the hole.
The edges -- the doughnut -- would
be new private development seeking to capitalize on proximity to the park.
The acreage -- considered and
rejected by the county for a minor league baseball stadium -- is
surrounded by valuable land that planners believe could generate a
multitude of midrise residences, offices, restaurants and shops.
"This is like a pebble being
thrown into a calm pond and the waves start to radiate out," said W.
Lee Jones, the Park and Recreation Department's branch manager for capital
planning and alliance development.
"We know there is significant
interest -- it's definitely going to spawn some more development," he
said.
Potentially, the park could be a really big next big thing.
Development parcels around the
edges could generate "tens of millions of dollars" in new
investment over 15 to 20 years, said Frank Warren of Warren &
Associates, part of the design and planning team.
The TradeMark, a 28-story condo
tower planned on Trade Street between Mint and Poplar streets, is a prime
example of how just the promise of a park has begun to generate activity,
he said.
And Spectrum Properties, which
represents Hartford, Conn.-based Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers on a
Church Street
block near the park, is rethinking development plans for the area in light
of the park.
The
Church Street
property and the adjacent block, which fronts on
South Tryon Street
, eventually could become a mixed-use project.
Spectrum foresees a combination of
offices and shops closest to
Tryon Street
-- where an office tower had been proposed -- and residences overlooking
the park.
That's exactly what county
officials hope to create -- a public project that leverages private
investment to bolster the tax base.
The role model county Park and
Recreation Director Wayne Weston likes to cite is
New York
's Bryant Park in midtown
Manhattan
. That 8-acre green oasis provides city dwellers with an expansive lawn
and hosts a multitude of public events.
For designers of the Third Ward
park, it's too early to get into specific uses.
"The thought is it needs to
be multifunctional and serve a diverse group of constituents," Jones
said. "You have business people going about their duties,
Johnson & Wales
University
students, ... people living uptown."
The planners will take direction
from the public, starting with the first hearing July 18. (Time and place
are yet to be announced). Typically, the county conducts three public
meetings, Lee said.
LandDesign and its team members
envision a 14-month master planning process ending with the county's
awarding a contract for construction.
If everything goes smoothly, the
park could be completed by late 2007.
The money for the project was
approved in a 2004 bond referendum. About $7 million should be available
to cover construction costs, Lee said.
The site includes the Virginia
Paper Co. building, a 1937 industrial structure that county officials are
working to preserve as part of the project.
Among proposals they are
considering for the 30,000-square-foot-building: an international market
and a combined upstairs/downstairs art gallery and restaurant concept.
The county's main concern is
working out a deal with an operator to ensure that whatever happens with
the building "not be a burden to taxpayers," Jones said.
The park might be able to host its
first visitors long before construction is completed and all the pieces
are in place. The county expects to demolish some structures within its
boundaries and create green areas for use by late summer or early fall.
Park officials say they would like
to have portions of the acreage prepared no later than the Carolina
Panthers' Sept. 11 regular-season home opener against
New Orleans
at Bank of America Stadium.
And that could be another next big
thing: the inaugural tailgating event at the new park.
Park
Design Team
• LandDesign, a
Charlotte
land planning, urban design and civil engineering firm.
• Carol R. Johnson Associates, a
landscape design and environmental planning firm with offices in
Boston
and
Knoxville
.
• Neighboring Concepts, a
Charlotte
architectural and urban planning firm.
• Walker Parking Consultants, a
Durham
parking analysis firm.
•
Warren
& Associates, a
Charlotte
market and economic analysis firm.
|
