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HomeMy WebLinkAboutVisioningGroupSummaryReportNo.2_01272021SUMMARY REPORT | March 25, 2020 BEALL’S THIRD | Workshop 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS | 2 Workshop 2 Summary Report VISIONING TEAM PARTICIPANTS Amy Asay Amber Bolton Amy Hoistma Andrew Gault Andy Holloran Ben Bennett Ben Kennedy Bob Horne Brian Popiel Bridget Wilkinson Carla Hill Carson Taylor Cathy Costakis Charley Franklin Chris Naumann Chris Mehl Chris Shaida Clem and Cynde Pellett Cordell Pool Emma-Quin Smith Gloria Brown Hampton Uzzelle Hilary Parker Jason Delume Jeff Arango Jeff Roberts Juile Hitchcock Lauren Cummings Lauren John Liz Talarico Martin Glastra Van Loon Max Hammer Nicole Stine Paul House Peter Andrews Rob Pertzborn Sarah Church Stacy Ossorio Steve Nobel Troy Scherer Vickie Backus TABLE OF CONTENTS | 3 Workshop 2 Summary Report DOCUMENTS PAGE NO. Acknowledgments Workshop Overview Introduction Design Charter Project Compass Master Plan Concepts Stakeholder Feedback Next Steps 2 4 5 6 7 8 12 13 WORKSHOP OVERVIEW | 4 Workshop 2 Summary Report WORKSHOP STRUCTURE MASTER PLAN CONCEPTS NEXT STEPSDESIGN CHARTER & PROJECT COMPASS While an online platform would not have been the design team’s preferred format, the safety of our community is our highest priority. The webinar featured a presentation mode to share images of the design process thus far and offered the community members the opportunity to “raise their hand” to ask questions and chat with the visioning meeting facilitators. These questions are summarized later in this document. The Master Plan concept exploration began with the consideration of five diverse approaches to achieve the project vision, mission, and charter at the Beall’s Third site. After extensive analysis of site history, surrounding context and applicable precedents, five master plan options were hybridized into the three concept alternatives that were presented at Workshop 2. Following this second workshop, the design team will be working to refine each of the master plan concepts and determine a preferred master plan alternative. Careful consideration of stakeholder input and ownership goals will lead us to a final master site plan that will be proposed to the City of Bozeman for entitlement following the appropriate procedures in the coming months. A Design Charter and Project Compass were created to guide the creation of master plan concepts. These guiding documents were informed by stakeholder input from Workshop 1 and ownership team goals and values. The purpose of the charter is to set the course for design intention throughout the life of this project’s development by establishing measurable goals and inspirational waypoints. WORKSHOP PURPOSE The purpose of this workshop was to reconvene with the stakeholder group to gather additional input for the vision and direction of Beall’s Third (formally known as Block 3) and consider three master plan alternatives This outreach was accomplished through a series of discussions via an online webinar to slow the spread of COVID-19 and comply with the Shelter in Place order mandated by the Governor of Montana. INTRODUCTION | 5 Workshop 2 Summary Report While the ownership team had every intention of hosting the stakeholders in a venue similar to Workshop 1 to conduct the second Visioning Meeting, the meeting on March 25th was relocated to an online webinar to protect the health of our community members and slow the spread of COVID-19. The agenda started with a summary of Workshop 1 and design team progress since January to ensure the design team was correctly interpreting the visioning group feedback. The facilitators then described the three master plan concepts that were up for consideration. Throughout the webinar community members had the chance to ask questions. The webinar concluded with an open discussion, and a question and answer period. These questions have been summarized later in the summary report. The images below graphically represent what we heard from the Stakeholders in Workshop 1. After synthesizing community input, ownership team goals, and design principles, the team took their exploration one step further in a field trip to Portland, OR to experience many of the precedents shown below. This was an important series of steps prior to diving into the master plan concept design. These images have since served as tools to confirm we are staying true to stakeholder input in our concept designs. Permeable Blocks Inviting Streetscapes Walk-Up Residential Concealed ParkingOutdoor Spaces Urban Alleys Active Ground Floors Festival Streets Rooftop Amenities DESIGN CHARTER | 6 Workshop 2 Summary Report This Design Charter initiative is meant to set the course for design intention throughout the life of this project’s development by establishing measurable goals and inspirational waypoints. MISSION Beall’s Third will re-write the script on what urban edges feel like in a mountain town and how they relate to the streetscape and open up to the neighbors. Art, Architecture, and Landscape will blur the lines of space, function, and experience. Scale, materials, and accessibility will feel familiar, human-centric, and inspired by the local surroundings. VISION Beall’s Third is a vibrant and diverse gathering place that provides opportunity to engage at a unique axis of creativity, commerce, living, entertainment, leisure, health and wellbeing. PROJECT COMPASS | 7 Workshop 2 Summary Report The Project Compass makes evident the ambition of the project team to deliver a kind of development that goes above and beyond the market standard for similar projects in Bozeman. The master plan will push the envelope in all areas of development, but is particularly committed to creating a sustainable, adaptable community hub that adds economic vitality and human vibrancy to the neighborhood. The project compass serves as a visual representation of that ambition and will be used as a tool to evaluate progress towards these goals throughout the duration of the project. The Project Compass is a tool used to graphically represent a project’s values in the key areas of Resource Management, Health + Wellbeing, and Sustainable Placemaking. This compass shows four levels of commitment to these values: market standard, improved, better, and exemplary. The project team identified their individual interest in each of the values around the compass, represented by magenta dots; the aggregation of those dots is represented by spikes around the compass that identify the project team’s level of commitment to these key areas. Beall’s Third strives to be exemplary in one or more aspects of health, happiness, equity, community, beauty, and financial resource management, and above market standard in all other areas of the compass. MASTER PLAN ALTERNATIVES | 8 Workshop 2 Summary Report Three design concepts were presented at Workshop 2. The three master plan concepts were designed using stakeholder feedback garnered from Workshop 1 as well as the project ownership team’s goals. Each concept seeks to maximize sensitivity to the neighborhood context and provide additional amenities to the existing fabric of the community, while maximizing the development potential of the site. These concepts represent collections of design ideas and visions for the future of Beall’s Third. However, these master plan alternatives do no depict finalized plans or definitive changes to the site. LINK The exploration of a diagonal mid-block alleyway intersecting the surrounding neighborhood grid. FESTIVAL STREET A reimagined Willson Ave takes center stage as a friendly, pedestrian oriented boulevard. BEALL’S ALLEY A series of linear alleys weave through the site to tell the story of the site from different perspectives. MASTER PLAN CONCEPTS | 9 Workshop 2 Summary Report LINK The southwest corner of the block east of Willson Ave serves as an activation point to the site. Link explores the idea of adding variation to the surrounding neighborhood street grid with a diagonal, mid-block alleyway through the site. Dynamic plazas are created by angling buildings towards the alleyway, creating a sense of mystery that draws users further in the heart of the block. The interior plaza space is envisioned as a lively and compelling space, full of sunlight and vegetation. Opportunities for retail, garden level apartments, and commercial business flourish in the core of the site, while the edges of the site activate the ground floor appropriately for the context. Link Open Space Framework Link Central Plaza Experience Render Link Site Plan Concept MASTER PLAN CONCEPTS | 10 Workshop 2 Summary Report BEALL’S ALLEY Beall’s Alley explores the idea of potentially making Willson Ave a more pedestrian friendly experience by implementing traffic calming techniques at a portion of the street. The southwest corner of the east block of the site is activated by a pedestrian oriented plaza and anchored with a unique “jewel” building that draws users to the site. A series of linear alleys weave throughout the site, leading to intimate interior courtyards. The building proposed for the northeast corner of Beall and Willson allows for sunlight to cast into the more interior passageways and enhance the pedestrian experience. Beall’s Alley Open Space Framework Beall’s Alley Central Plaza Experience Render Beall’s Alley Site Plan Concept MASTER PLAN CONCEPTS | 11 Workshop 2 Summary Report FESTIVAL STREET Festival Street reimagines Willson as a pedestrian friendly boulevard with traffic calming measures and ample plaza spaces. A strong linear path bisects the site from east to west, creating a network of intimate and mysterious interior courtyards. By jogging the secondary pedestrian paths, passerbys can sneak views into the courtyard as they walk the edges of the site. Varying scales of green space within the overall courtyard add to the richness of the spaces between the buildings. Festival Street Open Space Framework Festival Street Central Plaza Experience Render Festival Street Site Plan Concept STAKEHOLDER FEEDBACK | 12 Workshop 2 Summary Report QUESTIONS, ANSWERS, AND FEEDBACK In general, stakeholder feedback on each of the master plan concepts was supportive and confirmed that the project is moving in the right direction. Each master plan concept takes into consideration the surrounding context of the site to create a functionally and aesthetically unique development. Questions during the webinar centered around three topics: site access, programming, and development scale. SITE ACCESS Stakeholders posed questions about how the master plan concepts consider the existing city grid pattern and would affect pedestrian and vehicular circulation. The project team responded that each concept creates distinct circulation patterns for multiple modes of transportation and provides the required amount of parking. SITE PROGRAMMING One of the main concerns voiced by stakeholders is how the open spaces on the site will be utilized throughout the year, particularly during winter months. In response, the project team noted that Beall’s Third master plan strives to allow for flexibility in use in all areas; from building uses to the design of outdoor open spaces. Stakeholders also posed questions about how initial programming numbers were determined. Preliminary programming concepts were made based on the various codes, guidelines and plans in place as well as market feasibility. However, no final decisions have been made regarding programming in order to benefit from a certain amount of program flexibility, to future proof the development of the project over time. DEVELOPMENT SCALE Another component of the master plan that stakeholders showed interest in during the webinar was the scale of development and how it contributes to the scale transition between downtown and the Northeast neighborhood. Beall’s Third will follow all of the provisions set forth in Bozeman’s development code, specifically concerning block frontage regulations. We are considering residential frontages along Villard and Tracy to create a transition in scale from the Northeast neighborhood to Beall’s Third. Stakeholders also questioned why embracing smaller spaces throughout the development is beneficial to the overall outcomes of the project. From the inception of this project, Beall’s Third was envisioned as a collection of numerous smaller parcels rather than one large building. Creating numerous small buildings on the site allows for the creation of a varied network of publicly accessible interstitial spaces with proportions that benefit the human experience. NEXT STEPS | 13 Workshop 2 Summary Report This report concludes our second Visioning Workshop with community stakeholders where we provided a glimpse into the Beall’s Third project’s iterative design process and presented three master site plan alternatives. While each of the concepts offers an alternative approach to configuring the site, the common theme among them is to create interesting and inviting spaces around and between the buildings. These “in between” spaces are intentionally designed to vary across the site to create space that will appeal to residents, tenants, and the community alike. We believe this size and scale adds intrigue to the neighborhood and serves as a connector to downtown Bozeman. Guided by the Design Charter, Project Compass and Visioning Group feedback the project team will continue to refine the plan for Beall’s Third into one master site plan to be formally proposed for entitlement to the City of Bozeman in the coming months. In the meantime, we are considering hosting our stakeholders for a third, and possibly final workshop to share our proposed master plan. We will be in touch regarding the format of that workshop as we navigate the necessary COVID-19 precautions and their impact on community gatherings this summer. We look forward to further discussion with our stakeholders. HomeBase Partners p: (406) 404-1788 e: amy@hbpartners.com Embracing a collaborative spirit to enhance and transform communities. Thank you for your participation in our Visioning Workshop. Utilizing your feedback we plan to arrive at a final Master Site Plan that will be submitted to the City of Bozeman in Summer 2020. We will keep the Visioning Team up to date as we continue to make progress. If you have further questions, concerns, or ideas, you may contact HomeBase Partners. Once again thank you for your time and participation.