Please note: This was originally posted on this website on
March 28, 2007. That was before many details, including the
MOUs, were released. Some of
the ideas in this perspective are wrong, but remember, this was
before the public had much of the information now available. I
had the opportunity to speak with Deputy Mayor Mark Becker about many of
my concerns and questions on April 25, 2007, the day after the City
Council vote on the finance resolutions.
Read the interview here.
Harrison Square captured my imagination
when details were first released around Christmas last year. A
downtown ballpark could be the catalyst project to explode the
momentum that’s been building for the last couple of years. Much
money has been spent on study after study to address not only what
could be done, but also what should be done. More money has been
spent the last few years in actually building and improving not
only facilities - the downtown
ACPL branch and
Grand Wayne Center
- and infrastructure including sidewalk renovations and
Wayfinder signs. Councilman Tim Pape has stated that between
1995 and 2005, $2 Million in private money was invested in
downtown. (Pape-Talarico
City Council presentation 3/14/2007, slide 52) The last few years have seen a renewed interest in
downtown and increased investment as a result of the City’s
efforts. The Harrison Square proposal is the largest to
come along in a long time.
At one of the
final
Blueprint Plus
meetings a
map of downtown was posted
showing a baseball diamond a
cross from the Grand Wayne Center. At
that time, the Grand Wayne was still under construction so the
full impact of the vacant decaying lots in the now proposed
Harrison Square area was not as noticeable and in a way, they fit
with all the construction going on in the area. The map stunned
me – the current stadium was still
viable, why duplicate it? Upon further reflection, I’ve never felt
comfortable in the current
Memorial Stadium. Don’t get me wrong,
it’s quiet and peaceful, but in a way too peaceful.
I attended
the March 14, 2007 meeting at the downtown Library with the
expectation of receiving answers and details about the project.
Instead, I had more questions than before. I’ve never been
involved in the planning of a major project like this. I make no
claims to understand the intricate details of the financing
involved. I do know this is still in the early stages of
development and conception. Pieces are falling into place, i.e.
the purchase of
The Palace Restaurant and an updated concept
drawing of the Square.
I was very
surprised that the
new concept
drawing was barely mentioned or referenced, even though it’s
completely different than the drawing
first released in December.
The first thing you notice is that the baseball stadium has grown
in size. It was mentioned that the possibility of using the
stadium for high school football games is being explored, hence
the deeper left field. It was also mentioned that the
stadium’s walls were to be kept minimal in height so they will not
tower over the surrounding areas. (Please note that I do
understand these are "concept" drawings and not set in concrete,
however they do provide a visual image of the proposal.)
The problem
with the second drawing is it supports the argument that Harrison
Square is about baseball. The residential/retail buildings
dwindled from several to two in the main project area, but potential development further south along
Brackenridge and Baker Streets is now indicated. It might be mentioned that the
television stations, when broadcasting any news concerning
Harrison Square, still show the first concept drawing. This is
the concept that has stuck in the minds of most of the public.
There has
never been a clear explanation of anything to do with the project
past phase I. The closest to this is a mention in the city
brochure about future options. The two Lincoln Financial
Group parking lots that are on the north side of Baker Street and
the block of residential properties along Ewing and Baker Streets
are now mapped out as future development, hence phases II and III.
One of the
things that has impressed me with the project’s developers is
their insistence that the project "mesh" with downtown - that it
blend in and truly become a part of it. The new concept drawing
features one building between the ballpark and Jefferson
Boulevard. The building would start at the southeast corner of
Ewing and Jefferson and extend east along Jefferson ending across
the street from
King Gyros. (Again, I realize this is only a
“concept” rendering.) This would mean that driving east on
Jefferson Boulevard, a lot of the ballpark and surrounding area
would be hidden behind condominiums and store fronts. Westbound on Washington
Boulevard would mean the Grand Wayne Center blocking some of the
view with the proposed condominium/retail building blocking the
rest.
Hiding the
stadium behind the condominiums/retail area
doesn’t seem a good choice when it was
mentioned that the condominium buildings could
entail 5 or 6 stories. The condo owners would have a great
view of the baseball field, but those attending games would see
some of the Grand Wayne Center,
Downtown Hilton,
Summit Bank
Building, new hotel and
Embassy Theatre but mainly the
condominiums.
To be
truthful, there is not much from that proposed area to see, but at
the least, one should have a clear shot of the Library’s Main
Branch and some of the area west of that. One would certainly
want to salvage as much of a city view as possible. I’m thinking
of
Wrigley Field in Chicago. An older ballpark for certain, but a
decent view of the city. Spending a day in the stands there is
refreshing and seeing all the buildings and surrounding community
help to invigorate your experience and make you feel a part of
something vibrant and exciting.
Councilman
Tom Smith at the March 27, 2007 City Council’s first public
discussion of the proposal, advocated leaving the hotel and
parking garage development at the corner of Jefferson and
Harrison, but moving the rest of Harrison Square north to the
Omni
Source property. Councilman Smith feels that riverfront
development is necessary to downtown revitalization efforts and
that the majority of young people today want riverfront options.
A riverfront ballpark would certainly offer a more aesthetically
pleasing view of downtown compared to the current proposal.
However, it is a considerable distance from the downtown core.
Lawton Park and
Science Central to the east and
Headwaters Park to
the south border most of the area. To the west a solid
residential area that is similar to the one on Ewing Street,
although better kept.
The Omni Source property lies far to the north of the downtown
core, which would stretch the core out, rather than concentrate
it. Perhaps the distance is minimal, but Headwaters Park
makes it seem farther.
As I consider Smith's proposal, it would be too much
like the current Memorial Stadium in that one would feel removed
from the excitement of the downtown core. In the past
when the issue of riverfront development was raised, numerous
concerns about building along a river whose levels can fluctuate
wildly over the course of a year surfaced. The public was very
much against this
idea when Tom Smith revealed artist’s conceptual drawings of
possibilities for development.
One questioner at the library mentioned traffic and parking concerns.
If you’ve spent any time downtown at all, you know that traffic is
not currently a concern in the evening or weekend hours. If there were to
be a baseball game, convention/event at the Grand Wayne Center and
event at the Embassy in the same time period, things could get a
little exciting. But there are solutions to that problem. Trying
to navigate Jefferson between Webster and Clinton when the Embassy
lets out is a problem and always has been. But it would seem that
better coordination between police and event planners could
alleviate this. A possible solution would include an AM
transmitter and electronic message board signs broadcasting
traffic updates and information similar to those
used along interstates.
Harrison Square would only be blocks from the North-South corridor of
Clinton/Lafayette Streets and even closer to the East-West
Jefferson/Washington Boulevard corridor. However, the only
logical entrances/exits from the parking garage location in the
concept drawing are onto Harrison or Douglas Street which would
curve into Webster on its’ Western end. The choice to exit onto
Harrison Street could mean a left turn out of the garage and against traffic.
The
Douglas option going west would have problems of it’s own. In
either case a direct unimpeded route would be difficult at best.
This can be overcome with planning and foresight.
This leaves the parking concern. In the new rendering, Webster Street is now
closed between Jefferson and Douglas as well as Lewis Street
between Harrison and Webster which eliminates possible on-street
parking near the ballpark. There is some on-street parking
indicated on some of the streets surrounding the ballpark. The proposed parking garage would
contain 900 spaces (although I’ve heard some officials state it
will be 1,000 spaces) with these slots to be divided between the
proposed hotel, Grand Wayne Center and other venues downtown, not
to mention the ballpark. It’s already been stated that a certain
amount of the spaces, still being negotiated, would be reserved
for the hotel.
If the future development of the aforementioned properties along Baker Street
were to occur, where would parking take place? A weekday game
would be even worse with Lincoln Financial Group employees filling
its’ parking lots. I’m not sure if public parking in the evenings
and weekends on these lots has been considered. That would be a
temporary solution, as those properties could possibly be
developed in future phases eliminating this option.
I tried to get parking figures for a Wizard’s game from the
Coliseum, but was unsuccessful. Is a 900/1,000-space parking
garage large enough? Or is it too large? How quickly
would a garage of that size empty? If it’s a hassle to use,
people won’t attend games and or other events downtown defeating
the whole purpose and setting back revitalization even further.
Would the entire project be better served by splitting the parking garage
into 2 separate buildings? Perhaps one in the indicated position,
the other somewhere on the southern edge of the project? Either
way, some drivers will probably chose to park in the surrounding
residential areas between Ewing and Fulton Streets,
inconveniencing residents in an area already clogged with
resident’s cars. Where would buses park? Existing
retail/restaurants in the area might be forced to hire security to
ensure parking for their patrons although I’m sure this added expense
would be offset by increased revenue resulting from more activity
in the area. Adding a second parking garage to the project would
add to initial construction costs, but be cheaper in the long run
than adding another at a later date.
People should be encouraged to park and walk, but then again, let’s face it,
drivers downtown are not
pedestrian-friendly. What
about the possibility of utilizing other parking
garages downtown via shuttle trolleys? Citilink already provides
this service during weekdays in the summer, what about extending
it to include nights/weekends during games? The parking concern
needs to be addressed in a thoughtful manner and not easily
dismissed as pure laziness or matter of convenience on the part of
those complaining. Planning needs to insure easy access into
and out of the
area. If there is one thing that is evident from the complaints
about parking and traffic, convenience is an absolute. You can
build it, but give them traffic snarls and unsafe conditions and
they won’t come back.
One of audience members asked about a Whole Foods Grocery in the
project. While I think the question too restrictive in asking
only about a specific type of grocery store, the idea in general
wasn’t given a thoughtful answer. Instead, it was pointed out
that for the project to attract a grocery anchor store, something
like 12,000 to 14,000 rooftops would be needed. But that view is
too narrow in terms of thinking only about the project’s
residents. Anyone who lives in the downtown area knows, there is
nothing but the Kroger’s on Spy Run Avenue, a small store on Wells
Street and another south on Fairfield Avenue to shop without
having to drive a considerable distance. If in doubt, ask
yourself where those “rooftops” currently go. Food is a basic
necessity and one which people look for before clothing and other
items.
What sort of retail
operations are expected – clothing, specialty shops or general
merchandise? What will be the mix of retail stores and
restaurants? Frankly, I don’t mind driving a distance for clothing
because I only do it once in a while. Food is something I shop
for every week, if not several times a week. The downtown and
specifically that area
in particular have the fast-food angle
covered. There is room for sit-down eateries even with the
Firehouse Café and Hilton Hotel Restaurant in
walking distance and the Oyster Bar a bit farther out. So it
would seem that a grocery store would be a necessity – as long as
it’s not another Wal-Mart! Lack of a downtown grocery store is
almost always mentioned when people talk about downtown. Besides, the
steady stream of daily visitors drawn to a grocery store would
certainly justify taking a harder look at this option – especially
if this project is less about Baseball and more about
drawing people downtown. Realistically a grocery store may not be a
good fit with this project. But when talking about
attracting more people to live downtown, it's a necessary part and
needs to be addressed at some point.
One of the biggest concerns however with this project is the neighborhood
that borders it. For whatever reasons, property owners along
Ewing have let the houses deteriorate. My impression is that the
neighborhood is mostly rental properties with few landowners
actually living there. It is not a downtown neighborhood that I
particularly feel safe in, especially after dark. Now, you are
ripping out the eastern side to be populated with all new
structures and infrastructure while leaving one of the city’s
darker areas exposed. Will the city offer grants and or
incentives to improve properties in the area? Will property
owners clean up the area even with the offer of financial
assistance? Or will they in anticipation of increased property
values, let them deteriorate further?
At the City Council meeting on March 27th, Councilman Don
Schmidt said that he feels the city shouldn’t be spending public
money to duplicate existing amenities. The park aspect would
duplicate Headwater’s Park while meeting rooms in the stadium
itself are already provided by the Grand Wayne Center, Main
Library Branch and Hilton Hotel, not to mention the Embassy
Theatre facility. He also questioned whether the Coliseum
would be able to recoup losses from parking, concessions and lease
payments it currently receives. And as to the housing
aspect, he asks if the condominiums should be built elsewhere?
Along the riverfront, perhaps? He pointed out that the city
has never gone out and asked for proposals to build condominiums.
In the March 14th meeting at the library, it was mentioned
the condos would sell for $180,000 to $300,000 and that in other
cities, the units sell out within a short time of being offered.
I feel that everyone agrees there is a demand, or will be one once
this project is built, for
downtown housing.
But will those kinds of prices prove too prohibitive or
optimistic? Will they transition the neighborhood and project
into a more upscale exclusive entity? Remember what is on the
west side of Ewing Street and the downtown area in general. The other question here is if the
units do not sell at those prices, would the developers consider
building cheaper to allow units to be built in a price range more
affordable/desirable to potential residents?
In closing, let me say that I
support this project. It would be a shame if
this opportunity were simply skipped over because of vagaries or
the unknown outcomes or over-contemplation. This cannot go the way
of the Anthony Wayne Parkway, the proposed multi-use sports
facility – in about the same area as a matter of fact – or the
Kroc complex of a couple of years ago. (This last example wasn’t
realized because of a foundation decision beyond the city’s
control.)
However, the lack of details about anything past phase I and major changes in the
conceptual site plans support those who f
eel this project is only
about Baseball. Again, it’s acknowledged that the devil is in the details and the agreements are now being hammered out. We have to
take it on faith – which is not easy for such a conservative city
as Fort Wayne. There is not going to be silver bullet that will
magically revitalize downtown. If there were, we would have found
it by now with all the money, studies and community time put into
this topic. Letting this opportunity pass easily into the night
will do a huge disservice to the downtown efforts. As was stated
in some of the meetings – name another activity that will draw
300,000 plus to downtown. I have concerns about the previously
mentioned aspects of the project, but I have to agree with
Councilman Pape, "Can we say no to this?"
