Thoughts on Central City
I’ve been taking the week to reflect before commenting on some of the bigger visions the new Waukesha Central City master plan proposes, specifically the North River site. This site is bordered by St. Paul, Barstow, the Fox River, and Broadway and is the current location of Hardee’s, two antique stores (the old grocery stores) and Waukesha State Bank.
As you may know, this site lays directly across the river from the heart of downtown and truly has the possibility be something other than a parking lot for the Farmer’s Market, but to grow the heart and truly make our downtown Waukesha unique.
I applaud this site plan because it encourages further development of walkable spaces that include a public gathering place (G4) that could host a splash pad and/or ice-skating rink; a public-private building that would move City Hall downtown (C) to encourage open accessibility, and would leverage public investments to reduce the high risks associated with major private sector development; an expanded Riverwalk that includes a band shell (G3), as well as outdoor dining (G1) and expanded market stalls for the Farmer’s Market to bridge both sides of the river (G2); encourages not the recreation of old architecture, but introducing facades and architectural details with contemporary styles that blend the new with the unique texture of the historic street character; and, the buildings screen the parking lots from view, getting rid of the blank eyesores that plague Waukesha.
Edit: If things go well, we might have a convention center to help fill this space. If these plans go through, I truly hope they do not ignore this site development plan.
Other interesting visions (of which I will hold on commenting) include the redevelopment of the half-block area bordered by Barstow to the west, Martin to the east and Main smack dab in the middle (these are the current sites of Discount Liquor, True Value and a city parking lot) above; and the Wisconsin Avenue Site (bordered by West Main Street, Maple Street, Wisconsin Avenue, and West Street) below.
The plan in its entirety is available to download in nine working sections on the Redevelopment Authority’s section of the City of Waukesha website.
Erik
As someone who was on the steering committee for the plan and works as a City Planner, I can offer some insight on the Barstow area you were reserving comment on. Not sure what your take on it is, but I did hear some people at the meeting making some comments about that area as well, so I’ll offer my 2 cents.
The idea is not to force any of these tenants out and I think everyone on the Redevelopment Authority was in agreement that these businesses are a valuable asset to the downtown area and we want to see them remain downtown. Discount Liquor might be the most successful business in the entire downtown, so it would be insane to want to force them out.
The idea is that things change and the City needs to be able to respond to, and have a plan for, any eventual change. Say 5 years down the road Olsen’s want to sell the Ace Hardware and a developer comes along and wants to redevelop the property. This plan will give the City leverage in the design of that plan to make sure it fits with the new vision for downtown.
Maybe down the road someone will approach Discount and want to do a new mixed use development but wants to keep Discount as a tenant in a street level retail space with apartments above it. This plan would set the template for how that new development will look.
I think people get scared when they see new buildings on their property or in place of stores and restaurants they love, but its really just a guide for future development. The City is not going to force anyone out.
I think my favorite element of the plan is the plaza north of the river. I think it would be a great spot for the Farmers’ Market and small concerts (maybe move the Jazz in Cutler park over there?)
I also like the idea of City hall moving closer to downtown. I heard rumblings from people concerned that there should only be tax generating properties there but Civic buildings can be an important catalyst for redevelopment and investment. It signals to the development community that the City feels very strongly about an area. It also provides daytime population, which is one of the key things retailers and restaurants are looking at when they chose new locations.
Jeff, thanks for your input into this process.We do have quite a few key business downtown that are in buildings that are not properly designed for the space they are in. I welcome these plans, and hope the current owners are able to make these changes in the future, or a developer is able to provide them an offer that can make these spaces much more cohesive, and to rent out the space that truly fits their business.