12th St TOD Station Area Plan

This questionairre was provided to help direct discussion of the Central Village Planning Committee in the selection of a TOD place type for the 12th St station area. The following italicized text are my initial thoughts to the questions. Please share your thoughts about what you would like to see in the area. Thomas

 

 

Establishing TOD (Transit-Oriented Development) place types is the first step in the Transit District Planning process. The objective of this step is to create a general framework for the future vision of the station area.

 

To assist you in your recommendation, below are some questions to consider.

* Begin each question with "In general….."

 

Existing Conditions

•         How tall are the existing buildings?

Predominantly 1-2 stories, with one residential above 3 and industrial with scale height to 3-4

 

•         Is the station area residential, commercial or mixed?

Mixed, with residential primarily north of Washington, commercial in the LRT and Van Buren St corridors, and industrial along the southern edge

 

•         Is the station at a significant transit intersection?

Not directly; since 12^th St stops at Van Buren as a collector, there is no other street within the ¼ mile area that connects the station with other transit. With some planning however, 11^th St at Washington can provide for a connection with the busses that run along 11^th St in the Garfield neighborhood

 

•         What are the existing destinations? Do people travel more than a few miles to come to them?

While there is diversity in destinations, they are primarily employment related or residential. There are very few retail or entertainment type venues that would attract someone outside the area with rare exception

 

•         What are the existing plans for the future?

 

Future

•         What are the opportunities for future development?

Numerous vacant lots or parking lots exist south of the LRT corridor; a significant amount of buildings along Washington and Jefferson streets are low density/1-2 story buildings with significant space devoted to surface parking.

East of 12^th St contains lots of smaller single family structures with vacant lots sprinkled about that could be redeveloped into single lot infill,  mixed used housing that would retain the character as predominately residential but increase density, improve quality, and add diversity of housing options. Live/work options also.

 Asphalt lots along Van Buren used for used car lots are easy opportunities for infill buildings that contain store front and up to 35 ft in height. Light industrial to fill in along the rail yard would be a suitable solution to create a barrier between the noise and visual pollution of the rail yard.

Utility easements behind property facing Washington and Jefferson should be treated as an asset to allow for access to parking from local streets, reducing amount of cars entering/exiting from/to W/J streets, and allowing the street façade to be pedestrian friendly from the stations by bringing building fronts and entrances toward the street, with parking at the rear.

Relocating the LRT U-turn tracks on 11^th St could open 11^th St as a viable connector through the entire area, connecting bus and non-motorized traffic from Garfield neighborhood with 12^th St Station. In the interim, making the area more pedestrian friendly, possibly adding HAWKS at Washington, would allow bus riders to cross Washington and walk along W or J streets.

Many unique landowners allow for 1-3 lots to be developed at a time, offering opportunity to create urban scale, pedestrian oriented structures that retain character of a neighborhood scale, and offer affordability for future local owners.

 

•         What are the constraints to future development?

Many of the industrial buildings are older and their current use as warehouses may be underutilizing the location. Adaptive use could take significant investment to make them useable for contemporary uses. A significant amount of space is allocated to public assets, including schools, fire department, and street facilities.

North/south connections are limited by rail yard at south, developed lots to the north.

Large scale, multistory residential buildings for seniors and/or affordable housing set precedence of a resident type in the center of the residential core of the station area.

Some would argue that many unique landowners are a constraint, but in reality, for developing urban/pedestrian oriented infill is best done with minimal amount of space to maximize land use.

 

•         Are future plans realistic? Do they envision too much development, too little?

A focus on a diversity of high quality structures, high worker/income to space employment, mixed housing type and economic options, with a diversity of commercial services focused on local businesses, would allow for an organic approach that could meet a supply/demand balance that master planning would not create. This is realistic and addressed the correct amount of development. By not forcing development into huge projects, the area has the potential to respond more swiftly and easily to economic and social needs.

 

•         Will future development be primarily residential, commercial or a balance of both?

Higher density infill residential options, walk-up/pedestrian oriented commercial spaces, and light industrial should all be accommodated within the general area. Residential will fit best north of Washington or between the LRT stations, with pedestrian oriented infill structures along W/J and Van Buren streets for commercial and mixed-use types. Light industrial and intense commercial should be focused south of Jefferson, but maintaining the street grid to encourage pedestrian movement from the LRT stations.

Large land area infill requiring public contributions should be avoided, focusing on smaller infill to reflect the asset of the rail station as a primary transportation method for the area. Smaller infill developments could allow for more people to access the buildings from rail than requiring a car, thus necessitating significant fewer paved parking spaces.

Although a multi-block park exists 1/3 mile from the stations, public green space/urban plaza should be considered to help ensure a pedestrian scale and humanize an otherwise significant amount of hardscape and structure.