Last week, city staff met with the same group of Town Center stakeholders they had consulted in May, plus urban planning consultant Seth Harry, to provide an update on the downtown visioning process.
Harry’s architecture and design firm is reviewing the city’s zoning and codes for downtown to figure out what is working, what isn’t, and how Islanders can get the vibrant, walkable Town Center many envision.
That starts with clarifying the code, which is the “backbone” for Town Center development, Harry said at the meeting on Dec. 10. Especially with increased density and Light Rail coming to the Island soon, it’s important to review that now to inform future projects — from housing to retail to parking.
Harry’s vision for downtown includes diversity of choice in retailers, “meaningful” public spaces and a high quality pedestrian environment.
To achieve this, he suggested forming plazas near the intersections of S.E. 27th Street and 78th Avenue S.E., S.E. 29th Street and 78th Avenue S.E., and 76th Avenue S.E. and S.E. 27th Street (the curved part of that road — which Harry suggested changing from a street to a public square).
Those three areas would serve as “anchors” for Town Center that people could walk between, with the planned Mercer Island Center for the Arts (MICA) serving as an additional point of interest, as well as Mercerdale Park.
When asked if his team considered open space and parks when coming up with initial ideas, Harry said that he wants to provide easier access to those, and design spaces that would be an “urban equivalent” to the Island’s natural beauty.
The consultant’s idea to take out the curve on S.E. 27th Street across from the Starbucks — which he said is unsafe for pedestrians — and turn that area into a public plaza, “like Pioneer Square in downtown Portland,” got a positive reaction from the group at the meeting.
People could still get through Town Center on the street outside the Chamber of Commerce office, which is a public right of way, though detailed to look like a private parking lot.
Development Services Group Director Scott Greenberg said that this is just the beginning of discussions for a 20-year vision. The goal of the meeting was to use the expertise of the consultant, present “big ideas” and give the community a chance to respond to them.
As for the current code, there’s little correlation between what it is suggesting and what’s actually on the ground, Harry said.
The public amenity incentives that give developers height and density bonuses are ambiguous. Some plazas that are supposed to be public are surrounded by buildings and seemingly inaccessible.
The Island also isn’t attracting certain types of retailers despite its demographics and “density of dollars.” Harry showed maps of locations of Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s and Metropolitan Market, which are in Bellevue, Redmond, and Seattle – but Mercer Island is the “hole in the donut.”
Harry said his focus will be on “creating places, not projects” and giving Mercer Island long-term goals, a coherent and recognizable plan and an active and vibrant streetscape.
“It’s not like knocking down a strip center,” Harry said. “If we don’t get it right, we’re going to be looking at it for a long time.”
Other opportunities for the community to stay involved and provide additional comments will be announced in 2015.
