I posted about a bad façade job yesterday. Then today I saw some news in the Business Journal about Fresno County’s façade improvement program. It seems to be pretty effective. [PDF]

It was a little reminder that the City of Fresno’s façade improvements are getting more and more behind. I mean if Caruthers businesses are getting $50,000 0% loans with 50% forgiven if they don’t sell for 5 years. The the City of Fresno RDA ought to be able to offer more than $2,500 in matching funds. [PDF]

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In doing a little searching, I found this 2006 post by Elliott Balch on Fresno Famous. “Fulton Mall ideas you can touch” lists 12 sound & attainable ideas, I think numbers 2, 5, 8 & 10 have been accomplished. I included this because #6 is about façade improvement program. Elliott if you’re reading feel free to chime in. I’m curious if your perspective has changed in the 3 1/2 years since you wrote that.

We got our first donation for archop park!

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It is very exciting that the endeavor to revitalize a Central Fresno park that began in March is becoming real. The story of how we got to the first donation is as interesting as the donation itself.

I had made the decision to propose building the park incrementally rather than all at once like Extreme Makeover: Park Edition as originally planned. While this does draw out the process, it also makes it more attainable.

James Collier approached archop about HandsOn Central California doing a Make a Difference Day at the park on October 24th. Now we had man power. So the challenge became, where do we start and what materials will we need?

Trees are a good start. We had developed concepts for plantings at the park with landscape architect Design Lab 252.

Those concepts are to make sustainable plant choices i.e. low maintenance and drought tolerant. We also wanted to change the atmosphere of the park. Currently, all the plant life is at the perimeter. Sounds of the road and freeway inundate the park. We want plant life within the park and to introduce nature sounds.

We propose placing a strip of trees in the break between the freeway ramps. This is one of the few locations that gets full sun. We also consulted with Fresno State professor of Biology and bird specialist Madhusudan Katti for trees that fit our parameters (low water, attractive to birds and wildlife).

We took Madhu’s recommendations to Intermountain Nursery in Prather. They specialize in drought tolerant native plants. After making our pitch to the nursery, we got our first park donation.

Owner, Ray Laclergue, gladly offered us five Desert Willow trees. Which are small with a beautiful flower. And 3 Valley Oak trees. They grow very large and can survive our intense summers.

With flowers and acorns from the trees, the park will be enlivened with bugs, birds and squirrels evoking a park feeling in this urban triangle.

Below is a view of the proposed changes to the park. A basketball court is in the foreground the trees are in the background. Thee trees we will be planting now are small (3-5 feet) but will grow over the years to fill the space nicely.

And a reminder, fall is the season to plant trees. If there is a hole in your landscaping, consider filling it with a native tree. Take a visit to Intermountain Nursery. Support this archop sponsor helping us improve the built environment in the San Joaquin Valley.

Today, September 25th, the City of Fresno announced the Downtown Citizens Committee appointments. This committee’s first meeting will be on September 29th. This meting will be open to the public and we’ll announce the time and location shortly. Below is the media release and list of appointees.

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Appointments to Downtown Citizens Committee Announced

FRESNO – The City of Fresno today announced the members of a new community advisory committee, established to help guide future downtown development. The 21-member committee will assist with the creation of the City’s Fulton Corridor Specific Plan, encompassing a variety of unique project areas including the Cultural Arts District, Central Business District, South Stadium zone and Chinatown.

The committee includes a variety of downtown residents, business and property owners and others with expertise in real estate, planning, and community development. Eighteen of the members were appointed by Councilmember Cynthia Sterling, whose district encompasses the entire Specific Plan area. Mayor Ashley Swearengin appointed three members of the committee.

“This citizens committee is the linchpin of our strategy for revitalizing the urban core of our city,” Mayor Swearengin said. “The work they do will provide the foundation we need to create a vibrant and successful downtown in the years ahead.”
Members were chosen following an extensive outreach process, led by the City’s Downtown and Community Revitalization Department. Mayor Swearengin will participate in the committee’s first meeting on Tuesday, September 29th

Elliott Balch, Fresno’s Downtown Revitalization Manager, said committee members will be making a significant contribution to Fresno’s future. “Through the Fulton Corridor Specific Plan, the community will be setting new standards for development downtown and putting its vision for the area into law,” he said.

The names of committee members are included below. For more information on the Fulton Corridor Specific Plan, please contact Wilma Quan, Urban Planning Specialist, at 559-621-8371 or Wilma.Quan@fresno.gov.

Committee member Affiliation with Downtown and the community

Joyce Aiken – Former director, Fresno Arts Council; an original Fulton Mall artist

Alan L. Allen Retired contractor who has restored Fulton Mall buildings he owns

Rosemarie Amaral – Fresno Co. Dept. of Public Health, focuses on planning & fitness

Donavan Byrn – Cultural Arts District resident and Creative Fresno mural coordinator

James J. Connell – Executive Director, Poverello House

Raul De Alba – Family owns several Fulton Mall businesses and property since 1989

Morgan Doizaki – Mgr., Fresno Discount Mall; President, Chinatown Revitalization Inc.

Garrett Fahrmann – Senior Vice President for Operations, Fresno Grizzlies

Victoria Gonzales – Commercial real estate broker; former DTA director

James Haron – Owner of Haron Jaguar/Land Rover on Ventura Avenue

Eric A. Kalkowski – Co-owner of Kalkowski Construction, 10-year downtown business

Saundra King – Owner and manager of the Security Bank building at 1060 Fulton Mall

Gary Lanfranco – Third-generation owner of Cosmopolitan Tavern & Grill in Chinatown

Nancy Marquez – Board member and founding member of Cultural Arts District Assn.

Kelvin Morgan – Sr. Pastor, Harvest of Harmony Int’l Church; active in Chinatown cmty.

Roger Palomino – 15-year CEO of Fresno Co. Economic Opportunities Commission

Timothy Schulz – Construction supt. for several recent downtown mixed-use projects

Nanette Stockle – Office manager and co-owner of Mecca Billiard Supply for 20 years

Maribel Vera-Anaya – Owner, Joe’s Steakhouse & Grill on Van Ness Avenue

Brent Weiner – Third-generation owner of Procter’s Jewelers on Fulton Mall

Allysunn Williams – Director of Planning & Community Devt., Fresno Housing Authority
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This is a very interesting list with many well qualified citizens and some that we need to learn more about. One disappointing omission was anyone with extensive knowledge in architecture or historic preservation.

Look to www.archop.org for continued coverage on this topic and the development of the Fulton Corridor Specific Plan

The topic for today is the Fresno Metropolitan Museum of Art and Science.

The City of Fresno is in escrow for the block containing the Fresno Metropolitan Museum of Art and Science and a parcel across the street containing a parking lot. By everyone’s account, the city did not want to own this property. You may remember that the city cosigned a $15 million construction loan so that the Met could finish the renovation of the Old Fresno Bee building at Van Ness and Calaveras. $1.2 million of Mechanic’s liens still exist on the title of the property from various contractors that works on the project that are yet to be paid.
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Photo above and others can be found in Brad Polzin flickr photo stream
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Yesterday Councilmember Westerlund reintroduced a directive addressing the Met property in a joint session of City Council and the Redevelopment Agency (download PDF). A version of directive was originally introduced by Councilmember Perea in April. At the time Westerlund opposed due to a timing of a deal not yet being struck with the Met. The directive is for city and RDA staff to draft a joint Request For Proposals soliciting developers. The conclusion that Westerlund drew is that “Soliciting development concepts for the Met Museum block and the northern parcel through this RFP process is the most cost effective means of obtaining a market driven revitalization of a significant piece of the Cultural Arts District.”
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There are three significant issues we should discuss. The first is the role of the architect. The second is fiscal concerns. And the third is community vision.
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role of the architect
As you may or may not know, archop is a project of the American Institute of Architects San Joaquin Chapter. One of the guiding principles of the archop project is to educate the public about the role, responsibilities, potential, and importance of architects. I often look at news media and public policy through that lens. So a red flag went up for me when I read the City Council directive and listened the Westerlund’s explanation in the council meeting.
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As the directive is written, it will solicit proposals from developers. Present in the brief and context of the project there are significant challenges of programing a 24 hour mixed use project, historic resources, spatial issues such as parking and open space to name a few. I am of the opinion that the team It should be required of the Developer RFP team to include an experience architect to address these issues.

The Met is the anchor of the Cultural Arts District and a prominent historic building. This is a very important building and will require architectural sensibility.

Council Member Westerlund’s report calls for a “lively mixed use project…complementing the Old Fresno Bee Building.” “…consistent with the principles of smart growth, sustainable development and consistent with the development principals anticipated with the new downtown specific plan.”

These are complex issues that require insight in those concepts as well as programing, massing, green space, streetscape and other design issues. The education and training of architects make them best suited to address these issues. In an email to the City Council Members I asked them to consider making an architect a required member of the teams submitting for the RFP.

I’m not yet sure how well received the email was, but nothing about architects was mentioned in the meeting. However Westlund said that the Craig Scharton’s team at the DCR Department would take the design lead and be responsible for the form, function and aesthetic. Those items are traditionally the realm of architects. While I’m confident in the abilities of the DCR Department and they have a very talented planner, Wilma Quan, on their team, they do not have anyone with architectural training or experience.

Chief of Staff to Adreas Borgeas, Steven Sotomayor, raised the point that “[Westerlund] does not want them to design, he wants a concept–RFP would call for conceptual designs.” and “…perhaps the words used were not intended in the way that you may understand them vs. a non design person would.” Either way I think it a valid question to raise is: what is the architect’s role in designing a revitalized downtown?

fiscal concerns
The City Council and City Manager conceded the the proposal will likely not recoop any of the $15 million debt the city now has to pay on the property. In fact it was mentioned that the land would like have to be given to the prevailing master developer selected in the RFP process. On top of that it was mentioned that the city may have to offset infrastructure costs waive or reduce developer fees, invest RDA funds and may even incur legal fees or be on the hook for the $1.2 million of Mechanic’s Liens on the title.

So what we have is a highly subsidized master developer project. Can the city in it’s current financial state afford that? And should this be a funding priority over the cities many obligations and public need?

These concerns where raised in the meeting by council member Brand and Borgeas. However, that did not effect a unanimous 7-0 vote to precede.

Would this be the wisest use of our taxpayer money? Remember back to the mayoral election when Ashley Swearingen’s policy on downtown was “back to basics” and that she “[doesn't] believe in ’silver bullet’ fixes for the area.” And In many ways her policy shied away from the master develope,r subsidy heavy projects. At the time the Forrest City South of Stadium project was the hot topic.

Maybe this is all the action of the City Council. However, the City Manager and Downtown and Community Revitalization Department seem attracted to what this project could be. But it seems with the focusing of Department resources in the Fulton and Lowell neighborhoods as well as the active process of the Downtown Specific Plan it may have too many balls in the air to successfully and completely accomplish them all. And this is not to mention a downtown wayfinding project and facade improvement program once touted as essential for business success and vitality downtown have been seemingly sidelined.

community vision
With all that said, I’m curious what you feel the community vision should be for the Met and the surrounding land. After all it is owned by the City of Fresno therefore we as taxpaying citizens have a stake in it.

The Met is the anchor of the Cultual Arts District. A dream of the Met now seemingly unattainable was a Michael Maltzan designed museum that covered the entire block. The massive model was on display the the Unbuilt archop in January of 2008. The design was controvertial, thought provoking and even award winning. I’ve heard for one source that Maltzen did not want to do the renovation portion of the project. They don’t have much experience with existing buildings. That may have been the cause of the construction cost overruns. But that’s all in the past now.

There is an interesting building on the block commonly referred to as Theatre 3. Its on the Local Register of Historic Resources and was built in 1926 as San Joaquin Power & Light Company’s headquarters using Spanish Revival facade.

View Larger Map

I’ve also found this building to be inspiring even in its state of decay.

View Larger Map

So what are you’re thoughts on any of the ideas above?

Below is a first draft of a design for a new stage at archop park. It is a teardrop shaped concrete platform that is elevated 3 steps (18-21 inches). The existing park is in need of both some changes in elevation aswell as a central gathering place. This stage would fill that role.

This stage can be used by groups for music or other performances, anything the kids’ imaginations can conjure, a place to sit along the steps, it can also be used by skateboarders. The way the stage is shaped allows it to be used in two directions. A narrower 25 foot stage faces the grass and to the neighborhood beyond. A wider 40 foot stage faces into a roughly 50 foot by 90 foot open space in the park under the freeway.

Below is a photo I took this Saturday when I was at the park with Fresno City College students, Byron and Noam. We were there to take measurements and do some sound experiments to test the sound seat design. The stage as designed would be constructed over the paved circle at the left side of the photo.

This is a draft design so feel free to make suggestions.

The origin of the question “The last of the urban pioneers?” came a few weeks ago as I biked down Fulton to Milano. I noticed a new sign that intrigued me.

It was in the empty lot next to Tokyo Gardens. The building that once stood there was demolished by the City of Fresno due to structural instability. The absentee owner was billed. Since then, Granville Homes purchased the site. They plan to build a mixed use development there. It a great location, next door to the iconic Tokyo Garden and near amenities such as the farmers’ market.

A preliminary design of the project was submitted for Site Plan Review with the City of Fresno on July 6th 2009. The proposal includes 4 linear buildings with exterior stairs and walkways to access 2nd and 3rd floor units. Parking is in a gated lot behind the buildings. The two buildings with Fulton frontage are anchored by commercial space on the ground floor.

While we could discuss this design in more depth there is another side of the project and Granville’s urban developments that is more intriguing. This comes from an Aggregate of what I’ve heard from associates and a conversation with Darius Assemi and Jeff Roberts when they brought a conceptual design to the Tower District Design Review Committee. They are investigating who would live downtown and how many of those people are left. It seems they are concerned that they are reaching the cap of the demographic that rents units from them at Vagabond and H Street Lofts.

A question that seems to be plaguing their minds is: are there anymore urban pioneers to rent the apartments and commercial space. With millions of dollars on the line they are rightly uncomfortable with the “if you build it, they will come” concept. They also want to know what amenities residents would want and how much they’d be willing to pay for them.

To that end Granville is gathering up input from a website and focus groups with existing Vagabond and H Street residents. Two of the residents that participated were Floyd Sanchez and Hilary Malveaux. The dialog was directed by Darius Assemi. Floyd impression of the focus group goal was to “[collect] the resident’s input on things they would like to see in a new development planned for the corner of Amador and Fulton Street.” and “They seemed receptive to specific suggestions and requests. My perception is that overall they tempered their commercial concerns with the community’s concerns well. One thing I was surprised with was the scope of their ambitions with the Amador/Fulton project (next to Tokyo Garden). They plan to do a lot with the space.”

This is further reinforced by a Fresno Bee article on July 28th that states “Almost single-handedly, Reza Assemi is rejuvenating Fresno north of Fulton Mall.” But goes on to demonstrate that downtown housing development is still a lonely path.

It’s a pretty thought, says Robin Kane, a longtime analyst of Fresno’s real estate scene. And it may unfold like that someday. But for now, he says, Uptown, even with the addition of Broadway Lofts, will remain “a niche market.”

Kane gives Assemi high marks for backbone — “he’s got the courage and innovation to do it” — and savvy — “he understands [his] market well.”

Kane says that market is in large part the younger crowd, singles or childless couples, perhaps newcomers from larger cities who yearn for a taste of what they left behind — neighborhoods near taller buildings where it’s easier to buy a painting than a lawn mower.

But, Kane says, Uptown still is too raw to lure a broad array of renters, condo-buyers and major retailers, the engine of truly dynamic inner-city redevelopment. He doesn’t explain it in so many words, but he’s talking about the middle class, that big pool of workaday folks with money and a considerable fondness for security and convenience when it comes to choosing a place to live.

For that reason, Kane says, Assemi probably is destined for a while longer to be a pioneer in Uptown development.

I drafted this post over two weeks ago. And unlike many of the other 20+ drafts I have saved, this one has become more and more relevant. With the closing of Milano on the Fulton Mall, a safe haven for Fresno Creatives for over two years, we have to question our progress. There is even the real threat of urban pioneers becoming disillusioned or even loose the faith

Downtown is not even at a point where it can support small businesses. The discussion goes back to the chicken and the egg. To live downtown, people want big city amenities. To provide big city amenities, businesses need a strong customer base. I say we need eggs by the dozen and a full hen house at the same time.

So what are your thoughts? Have we reached the cap of Downtown Pioneers willing to make sacrifices to build an urban lifestyle in Fresno? What are the hang-ups? Are there any low hanging fruit not being picked?

When will downtown become mainstream? What is that tipping point?

So readers, what is needed for you to take the plunge and move downtown? If you’re an existing resident, what will it take to keep you down there?

For those of you unable to attend, M. W. Steele Group presented the following 1st draft of the Tower District streetscape master plan to the community meeting Tuesday night for feed back. Click on the images to zoom in.

I’ve decided just to post the plans here and not issue an opinion. Feel free to discuss here and I’ll try to answer any questions you have. On a side note, there is an essay I wrote about the Tower District and public space in 2005 that was a finalist for the Berkeley Prize. The full version isn’t online but check out the abstract.

For opinions and discussions focused mainly on the proposed traffic circles see:

The Anthro Guys
Gustav’s Groupie
Fresno Beehive

Related posts:
Tower District Streetscape Plan
Q & A with Diego Velasco
Tower District Streetscape charrette video
Critique: Tower District Streetscape Design Charrette

Hank Delcore, Ph.D., and Kiel Famellos-Schmidt
also found at http://theanthroguys.com

Saturday from 10am to 2pm, about a hundred Tower District residents and business owners gathered for a design charrette put on by the City of Fresno planning department and MW Steele Group. Steele has the contract for planning a redesigned Tower District streetscape as part of the Tower District Specific Plan. Saturday’s event was a day of community input, with Steele returning this Tuesday night to present some design alternatives.

We laud City Councilman Blong Xiong, the city, various Tower District advocates, and the Steele Group for putting on this event. Mark Steele and his team listened, took some hard questions, and were willing to engage in some good give and take.

As professionals in participatory design and community design methods, we also noted some things about the program that can inhibit the quality of community input and seriously limit the degree of real community participation in the design process. This critique is intended to increase the quality of design charrettes and community input in Fresno as well as raise awareness about the potential of participatory design.

Expert focus of the event
The organizers stated that the day was all about the participants, but in practice, the more consistent emphasis was on the expert status of the architects/planners vis a vis the participants. After an introductory presentation on the distinctiveness of the Tower by two long-time Tower advocates, Mark Steele took the stage and talked mostly about his firm and their approach to the project. He presented his goals for the project, despite acknowledging that the day was about understanding our goals and aspirations. His associate, Diego Velasco, followed with the firm’s views of the strengths and challenges of the Tower District – again, topics that the charrette was supposed to probe. Expert statements are not the best way to begin an event meant to foster community participation in the planning and design process.

It wasn’t until 11:15am that the twelve tables of participants were unleashed on the first design drill. By that time, some participants had already turned their attention away from the stage and were fingering the maps, stickers and other supplies on the tables. An hour is too long for facilitators to dominate the stage at a four hour event. The long lead-in both cut down the time for participants by a quarter, and set a strong expert-focused – not participant-focused – tone.

Diversity
The tower district is a very diverse place. It is called home by many including: African American, Asian, Caucasian, Latino, young and old, the progressive community, and the GBLTQ community. Economically, there is a mix of home owners and renters, working class through upper class and even homeless. As well, Tower is a destination for those throughout Fresno and beyond in search of unique cultural, entertainment and dining experiences.

The participants at the charrette were overwhelmingly white and weighted toward local property and business owners; the average age looked to be about 50. Conspicuously absent were youths and Latinos, two large and important resident/user groups in the Tower. Tower visitors from other neighborhoods were also missing. Those who attended are important, but they are already the most likely people to have their voices and preferences heard in this process, and they have a partial view of issues at stake in the streetscape. For example, there were probably relatively fewer public transportation users among the participants than some other Tower constituencies, an important point when it comes to redesigning bus stops and associated features like sidewalks and bike racks.

Tight format, short time
For each design drill, the participants had 15 minutes to work through complex issues, like recommending placement of street furniture and other features all across the Tower District business core. Each exercise time was followed by 30 minutes of often repetitive presentations from each table to the entire group. The design charrette had us wrestling with important and potentially highly creative design issues, but the format was too tight.
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Constrained approach to community participation
Finally, with the design alternatives meeting coming up Tuesday, we wonder how much of Saturday’s charrette can really be incorporated into the process. Again, we agree that Mark Steele and his colleagues (and by extension the city) are sincerely trying to listen. But it’s hard to believe that Steele and company didn’t already have some designs in mind or drawn up before the charrette. If not, then they would have to work day and night from Saturday afternoon till Tuesday night to synthesize ideas from a hundred participants and come up with some design alternative to present – and even then, this time frame is probably too tight. Surely they are working with the charrette data right now, but they also probably had some designs already laid on and ready for their return to Fresno Tuesday night. This raises the question: how much community input can really be incorporated when the goals, strengths, challenges and preliminary design work have all already been done before the community is consulted? (In fairness, Mark has said that the design alternatives they will present Tuesday night will not be very detailed; we’re sincerely curious about the firm’s process for analyzing charrette data and incorporating it into their designs.)

What We Would Do
In our experience, facilitating dozens of participatory design charrettes, as well as observation of other charrettes and research of best practices, here’s how a truly participatory design charrette might look:

Participant focus
At one point Saturday, Mark Steele said, “today we’re gonna make you into streetscape designers.” In other words, the experts were ready to teach us how to do something of what they do. But a community design event shouldn’t be about transferring knowledge about design practice from experts to community members. Instead, we start from the principle that everyone is a designer already, without expert help. In other words, we all have design ideas and practices related to our surroundings, including our streetscapes. A community design charrette should be aimed at unlocking the design insights we already have (or could have, in the right context), and making those insights available to professional designers. Professional designers apply their experience and expertise to produce the actual design, inspired by community input.

In practice, a participant focus means that you deemphasize the role of expert or facilitator. No long and potentially intimidating statements of who has what degree or affiliation or expertise; instead, you dive right into the participatory design exercises and maximize the time that the participants have at center stage.

Recruitment means diversity
If you open the event up to “concerned citizens and business owners,” you tend to get a self-selected group of the usual suspects, as we saw on Saturday. Instead, we recommend targeted recruitment among all user groups to ensure a diversity of participants in the design process. This of course takes more work upfront in recruiting and screening. The result is much more useful data that can more accurately influence the design process.

Loosen up the format, take your time
Getting true participation takes time and flexibility. We would have recommended a series of three participatory design charrettes, with smaller yet more diverse participants, and more creative exercises involving, perhaps, larger scale prototyping and methods drawn from theatre and the arts — this is after all the Tower! (Diego said that they considered a skit-making exercise but time constraints precluded it.) Participants could act out common Tower interactions with streetscape props. Examples we bounced around included: the bus stop, the sidewalk café, the tower rat hangout, bar hopping, Rogue, etc. This would give the designers data about our culture and spatial needs. Using audio and visual recording, can capture both the data and the process through which it was produced for later analysis.

Another method we thought would be useful is to have different tables focus on different areas of the project area. With twelve tables of participants at the event all focused on the same design drills never more focused than the entire project area, a lot of redundant results were produced. The area is easily broken into six overlapping parts. Each area is then worked on by two tables. This would get all of the project area equal focus. At Hank’s table and the three tables Kiel facilitated, we noticed input was light at the edges. Also at the 1”=30’ scale aerial photo that was the last of the design drills, it was hard to definitively place streetscape elements and furniture represented by stickers in our tool pallet that included: sidewalk cafes, potted plants, streetlights, handicap ramps, benches, bike racks, etc.

Some of these measures would increase costs at the event level. However, we have Fresno-area expertise to accomplish participatory design and planning work and the savings from keeping the work local would more than pay for the changes we suggest.

True participation
Let’s face it, whenever we create something, we become wedded to it: we want to defend it, sometimes not even consciously. From talking with Mark, and Diego, observing how the community was prompted, and the tight timeline, it seems much of the design is already in place. Community consultation should take place before any designer digs into a project or puts pencil to paper.

While we value and honor the expertise of MW Steele Group and the work done by the City of Fresno and the Tower community, this is our honest assessment of the design charrette process and how it could be improved upon. Please attend the next meeting Tuesday, July 28th 7-9pm at Roger Rocka’s Dinner Theatre, where the design alternatives will be presented.

Related posts
Tower District Streetscape Plan
Q & A with Diego Velasco
Tower District Streetscape charrette video
Bored in Fresno? Become an Anthropologist
ArcHop Construction Proceeds

Video courtesy of Business Street Online.

related posts: Tower District Streetscape Plan and Q&A with Diego Velasco

This Saturday 10am – 2pm at Roger Rockas Dinner Theatre there is a community design charrette for the Tower District Streetscape Plan. The architecture and planning firm coordinating the design charrette is M. W. Steele Group along with assistance from members of the Tower District Marketing Committee, Tower District Design Review Committee and City of Fresno Planning Department.

Diego Velasco Assoc. AIA, LEED AP with the M. W. Steele Group will be conducting the process tomorrow. Below he answers our questions regarding the upcoming community design charrette:

KS: What can community members expect at the community meeting? I assume this is a design charrette type setup. What kind of activities will we be doing?

DV: Folks can expect to have a fun time. We have prepared a series of “design drills” to help engage participants and walk them through the steps that we, as designers, often take in the design process. We will start the workshop with a powerpoint presentation that will highlight the fundamentals of streetscape design and key streetscape elements. Our first exercise will be a classic brainstorming session to get the juices flowing and give folks an opportunity to express their ideas, visions, and concerns. The next “drill” will be a mapping of the tower district, where we will ask everyone to identify some of the key existing conditions of the area, and finally, in the last exercise we will roll up our sleeves and get to work, proposing ideas and potential designs for the three streets we have been asked to consider: olive, fern and wishon. To assist stakeholders in this, we have prepared a series of icon stickers that depict streetscape elements (such as benches, trees, waste bins, etc.) and some cutouts of potential streetscape designs (such as bike lanes, sidewalk cafes, pop-outs, etc.). We will also have color markers and trace paper for the more adventurous, and plenty of opportunities for folks to write comments or ideas (if they prefer more anonymity).

KS: What are your goals for the outcome of the meeting? What would make it a success?

DV: We often say that as the urban design consultant we are really only the conductor, and the stakeholders are the orchestra. The quality of the music that results is highly dependent on the energy and efforts of the orchestra. We do not approach a project as an opportunity to impose our ideas, but rather, believe our role is primarily to demonstrate to folks the range of possibilities and common practices, so that they can decide what works best in their neighborhood. Our hope is that people will come out of this feeling energized and enthusiastic about the future potential of the Tower and ready to implement some of the good ideas.

KS: What is the time line after the meeting?

DV: We will take all the information gathered at the first workshop and synthesize it into a set of guiding principles, which we will use to guide our design proposals. We then will return to the community on Tuesday evening for a second workshop, where we will show some design alternatives and get deeper into the specifics of the streetscape elements and design. We hope to get a good direction as to a preferred alternative or a combination of preferred options, and will take that back to our office and develop the design in greater detail. We have tentatively scheduled a third workshop at the end of August, beginning of September, to come back to the public and present a draft streetscape design plan for comment. Beyond that, the schedule is in the hands of the City of Fresno Planning Department.

KS: Being from San Diego, what strategies will you use to ensure the final design is authentic to Fresno?

DV: The most important strategy is always to listen, listen, listen. We have several projects in our portfolio that are outside of San Diego (including the El Dorado Park Plan here in Fresno). We have found that the best way to ensure authenticity and preserve a local flavor is to research as much as possible about the area, engage meaningfully with the community, and be willing to make revisions when we don’t get it right. One idea we have come away with is that we need to engage the local arts community to help incorporate public art in the streetscape design. This may be a good way to highlight the unique “funkiness” of the Tower.

KS: What is the product that you’ll be delivering to the City of Fresno?

DV: We never fully know what the product will be until we have completed the workshops. However, in general we will complete a streetscape plan that will include a summary of the ideas and concerns expressed in the workshops, a design plan for each of the three street segments in our project area, a series of perspective “vignettes” or renderings depicting the key concepts, a palette of streetscape elements appropriate for the area, some discussion about streetscape best practices and references.

KS: What are some projects in your resume that are similar to the Tower District Streetscape Plan?

DV: We have designed some major avenues in the City of National City, we also prepared streetscape designs for the San Diego Naval Training Center Reuse and Precise Plan and for the Yokohl Ranch Town Center Design Guidelines.

Like Diego said , so please attend the workshop Saturday, July 25, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm at Roger Rockas Dinner Theatre (1226 N. Wishon just North of Olive Ave.) Bring your energy, bring your ideas.

Diego’s bio from http://mwsteele.com:

Diego brings a broad view of architecture to MW Steele Group since joining the firm in 2007. With degrees in city planning and urban planning, he approaches design as an all inclusive process. As an integral part of our urban design and planning practice, he has opportunity to include architecture, urban design, landscape architecture and planning to some degree in each project. This connective way of thinking makes him flexible, and diverse in his skills. Diego’s ability to conceptualize projects, whether detailed and technical or more broad in nature makes him an asset to any project team.

Diego has worked in private practice as well as with municipal planning and development agencies, giving him an understanding of both sides of the planning process. He is technically adept with graphic software programs as well as being an exceptional artist in hand drawing. Diego’s talents have been recognized with several honors and design awards.

Diego Graduated from the University of Washington with a Master’s degree in Urban Design in 2006 and the University of California, Berkeley with a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture in 1999.

Today an announcement was made regarding the future of the Tower District Streetscape and upcoming community design charrette.

The announcement was posted on the Tower Exchange by Will Tackett with the City of Fresno Planning and Development Department. A mailer was also sent to all residences and businesses within the Tower Districts boundaries (Shields to 180, Fruit to Blackstone). The announcement is below:

Community Charrette – Tower District Streetscape Capital Improvement

We’re renovating Olive Avenue and neighboring streets, and we need your input!

The City has allocated funds for the creation of a Streetscape Plan for the commercial area of the Tower District. The plan will include improvements such as
• New Sidewalks
• Bike Racks
• Lighting
• Trees
• Public Art
….and anything else we come up with!

Our plan will be developed by everyone attending the community meetings, and we want to include your opinions and ideas, so please put these dates on your calendar.

Let’s get together and create a great community plan!

Saturday, July 25, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm: Visioning Workshop to develop design alternatives
Tuesday, July 28, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m: Workshop to select a preferred alternative and develop the design concepts

Both meetings will take place at Roger Rocka’s Dinner Theatre (1226 N. Wishon).

For more information,
call 497-8362

M. W. Steele Group is the architecture and planning firm from San Diego that was selected for the project through an RFP process in September of 2008. They will be coordinating the design charrette along with members of the Tower District Marketing Committee and Tower District Design Review Committee.

All available Tower residents and regulars should attend this meeting and give your input. This post will be updated with experiences at the meeting.

disclaimer: I am a Tower District resident, property owner and membe of the Tower District Design Review Committee.

Yesterday, our humble website strode clear over a milestone. For the first time we had over 100 visits to the site in a single day. By midnight, we actually had 184 visits. Our previous high was 79 visits, set on April 14th during National Architecture Week.

We built this website back in January with the help of Paprika Studios to feature the steadily growing archop exhibits. We also wished to introduce content that can’t be found in any other Fresno media. That is critiques and commentaries about Fresno’s built environment, uniquely focused on design. Other local media report on architecture and the built environment. The focus is often on economics or reported as a current event, rather than exploring the implication for the built environment. The question of ‘why does that building look that way?’ or ‘is that a good or successful design?’ or ‘what does this building say about us and our city?’ rarely get explored. Also the question of ‘who is the architect?’ is left unanswered.

In other cities it is common place for newspapers to employ architectural or urban design critics, much like providing readers with food critics or cultural arts critics. John King who writes for the SF Gate and SF Chronicle come to mind. That is not currently the case in Fresno. We intend to change that paradigm here.

The 1st critique I wrote was of Tower Tattoos. That was a success story of good architectural design. That was a small tenant improvement project that we were able to dig into details of the design. It was also the beginning of what I believe is essential for pushing our Fresno’s and the region’s built environment forward.In that post I wrote:

“We need to offer constructive criticism to buildings, architects, and developers that are not preforming. We also need to highlight and reward those that demonstrate high quality design and positively contribute to a healthy and vibrant built environment.”

On Tuesday I wrote what I hope is constructive criticism on the Granville Homes’ L Street Village project. The post was the main driver for site traffic yesterday. It launched our site traffic through the roof (would our roof be a flat glass roof, maybe a sheet metal butterfly roof, or even a green roof?). The post has drawn 247 visits since Tuesday.

This has got me thinking about the theory behind design critique and a driving theory behind the archop effort.

Architectural education is not a pat you on the back, everyone gets a gold star kind of education. It is rigorous and often merciless. Part of that gauntlet is to prepare us for a professional practice that is highly competitive, low in compensation, and high in liability. A profession where creativity, communication, and cool under pressure are equally essential.

Remembering those critiques, I was forced to completely reevaluate things I had accepted as fact. In that process I discovered so much about myself and the built environment we live in. And when you do something right it shines, like an awakening the world is new and makes sense. To impart that on Fresno would be a dream come true.

This is not an effort to be critical for the sake of being critical. It is not intented to be high brow. It is not out of spite or dislike for any person. We will strive to make these critiques constructive and accessible. Please call us out if that is not the case. This is a learning process for us all.

Let us work together toward architecture, landscape and urban planning that is: a steward to the land, authentically Fresno, offers all the amenities we require with the ease we desire, innovating the whole way through.

In addition to the L Street & San Joaquin Avenue proposal, also on Monday’s agenda of the City of Fresno Historic Preservation Commission was the proposed demolition of three properties on Broadway Avenue near Tuolumne. The three building were not on any historic registry. However, in a historic survey of the area they were found to be contributors to a potential historic district called Broadway Auto Row. The district included a strip of buildings that where once used as Car showrooms parts suppliers and repair shops.

View Larger Map

The proposed demolition was brought to the Commission by owners Will Dyke and Reza Assemi. Reza developed a building across the street called Broadway Studios which features a restored facade containing 3 commercial spaces in front and 20+ artist work studios in the back.

The discussion by the Commission did get heated and even jumped to the controversial demolition by Will Dyke of the Nationally Registered Ice House Building. (1, 2, 3, 4) At one point architect and commissioner said “Downtown keeps getting it teeth knocked out.” Also as coauthor of Fresno’s Historic Preservation Ordinance, he disagreed with staff abou the intent of the Ordinance.

The only action the committee could talk was to recomend the the buildings are individually eligable for the Local Registry. That is a higher threshold than a building that is a contributor to a historic district. It was a 4 to 2 vote to not rocomend the buildings for the Local Registry. That vote cleared the path for Will and Reza to pull a demolition pemit for the three buildings.

I had written about the demolition of the two buildings next door to these properties. The building on the end was commonly known as the Nightmare Building. On Fresno Famous the post was title Eulogy of the Nightmare.

Today is the City of Fresno Historic Preservation Commission meeting. There are several interesting items on the agenda, but I’d like to focus on one. Darius Assemi of Granville Homes has asked to meet with the Commission to present a conceptual plan for a mixed-use project at the corner of L Street and San Joaquin Avenue in downtown.

click for larger image

The report to the Commission states that Assemi is seeking Commission and public input prior to incurring additional research and expense. If you are not familiar with the Assemi family and Granville Homes, they have made substantial investments in Downtown, specifically in the Cultural Arts District.

I believe we are at a point in development in downtown Fresno that the question is no longer “development or no development?” The question now is “How do we measure successful development?”

Last week I posted theory thursday: authenticity alluding to some projects that do not evoke authenticity. I believe that this project falls into that category. Some of the things that triggered this is that the proposal included two styles which remind me much more of tract home models than that historic Art & Crafts and Italianate which they are named for. Below are the renderings included in the proposal.

Arts & Crafts

Italianate

While this neighborhood has many vacant even severely damaged buildings, several are historic. And the common style represented is Colonial Revival of various forms. Beyond missing the mark historically, I’m of the philosophy that building faux historic buildings near real historic buildings is actually detrimental to the built environment.

There are several reasons I believe this: The level of craftsmanship of the historic resources is unmatched by the economics of and process building today; the history a neighborhood should be a patchwork of different eras leading to today’s contemporary buildings. This should be easily read. By building cheap knock offs of yesterdays buildings today with foam details once hand carved out of solid wood history become very muddy for the passerby.

A contemporary building in this location should take cues from its surroundings. What is the scale of its neighboring buildings? Is there a rhythm set by how the land was parceled? What are the materials used? How do the buildings address the street? All of these elements can help a new building fit into the context of its surrounding without trying to mimic the past.

Beyond style, the planning of the project should be such it builds community. Street life is essential as is pedestrian focus. The plan proposed feels much more like a gated apartment complex. That does not fit the downtown context.

In summery, I encourage Granville Home to continue investing Downtown, however this proposed project marks a turn in the wrong direction.

UPDATE 6-23-09

The Historic Preservation Commission meeting was interesting. I was surprised how willing the commission was to accept the fact that the 3 historic buildings on the site of the Granville proposal would most likely be demolished. They were more interested in preserving the buildings on the West side of the street that were outside the bounds of the proposal.

I found some glimmer of hope in a comment made by architect and commissioner, Chris Johnson AIA “This is not the Historic DemolishionCommission.”

To Mr Assemi’s credit he was open to all input about the design. Comments from the public including a member of the Fulton/Lowell Design Review Committee, a former HPC Commissioner Cam Maloy, and even Historic Preservation project manager, Karana Hattersly-Drayton, were in favor of a third alternative not shown above.

The third design broke the long building in two with a pedestrian walkway and each building used detail elements pulled from different styles. Most notably was a center building that quoted the parapet detail from the Helm Home on the west side of the street. Granville is also planning to renovate the Helm Home.

I spoke publicly about some of the design concerns that I had that are listed above. My comments focused around authenticity, trying to preserve at least one of the building as an anchor to the project and some of the urban planning issues that needed to be addressed regarding activating the street with entry porches activating the street.

The Commission formed a subcommittee that will further advise Granville Homes about the design

I’ve been hearing/reading alot about BLDGBLOG lately. So today I poked my head in the check out their site. Today’s post is titled “London Yields, Harvested” It was in reference to an event called “London Yields: Getting Urban Agriculture off the Ground” a kind of workshop covering how to get urban agriculture in London.

So here I am in Fresno, California. Above the soil capable of growing a great diversity of plants. In a climate with one of the longest growing seasons outside the tropics. About the harvest the corn growing in my front yard. And I think if London can get moving on urban agriculture, then Fresno can.

So where do we start?

The first thing BLDGBLOG mentioned was “become public policy”. This is a big one for Fresno because every one of our community gardens seems to be met with resistance from police or code enforcement in the City of Fresno.

There also needs to be the organization and popular support. Fresno Metro Ministries has some recomendations.

What do you think? Could be an urban farmer? Do you have a sunny spot and a few hours a week to tend?

And an important question would yo take a hands on class that I’m going to teach next spring about urban agriculture?

Authenticity is something we strongly believe in for Fresno’s built environment.

What does Authenticity mean?

Authentic architecture is unique to a place, it seems to fit. The building fits in both it’s geographic place as well as it’s place in time. Olive Avenue in the Tower District is authentic. Our old brick buildings downtown are authentic. Fresno’s version of Mid Century Modern is authentic. I could go on.

What is not authentic?

A new building that poorly mimics historic Fresno architecture is not authentic. It actually does harm to the historic integrity of a neighborhood. Suburban buildings in downtown are inauthentic. Covering up an original facade is inauthentic. Examples will follow in later posts.

I’d like to make an analogy here. I’m sure you’re all familiar with CliffsNotes. These are pamphlets that summarize a book and give a student everything they need to write a shortcut book report for English class. They don’t read the book and they don’t have an original thought. That used to fly. English teachers however, have gotten hip to this and other internet shortcut sources. So if they’re on there game they’ll flunk the student’s shortcut paper.

I feel like development in Fresno, specifically downtown can be linked to this scenario. It seems as if some developers working downtown read the CliffsNotes about historic Fresno architecture and contemporary urban architecture and are trying to pass off some bad buildings on the Fresno public.

Unfortunately, the Fresno public is not yet hip to this. We’re like old teachers that don’t know how to use the internet. We are allowing this inauthentic shortcut architecture in our downtown. These buildings even get praise at times. Perhaps because we don’t know better or are afraid no developer will turn in their paper.

So this sounds serious right? Damage to the authenticity of our built environment is being done. And buildings are pretty permanent.

What do we do?

Well it starts here. We need to first determine what is authentic for us. Then we need to start grading these building designs being proposed. And we can’t be afraid the flunk some designs. Some may get their feelings hurt. But it will be a lesson to start doing their homework.

Specific examples of this idea will follow. In the meantime, what do you imagine authentic contemporary Fresno architecture looks like? What does it pull from the past? How does it respond to our climate? Where do it’s inspiration and concepts come from?

For more about authenticity see the Mayor’s Creative Economy Council report

Several times over the last few weeks I’ve been asked “how’s the park going?” This question has helped me realize two things. First, that there is a community buzz about this park, people want to see it come to fruition. And second, that since we announced the community drawing workshop at the park on April 17th, I’ve been silent about the park.

Here is a run down of what has happened from that workshop until now:

The workshop went well. There were several families, community leaders, and a dozen children of varying ages that participated. We made drawings of “our ideal park”. This exercise both engaged community members giving them a voice and helped us get an idea of what would draw different user groups into the park. It also helped me exercise my underused Spanish skills. To coordinate the workshop I was joined by Hank Delcore and Elfego Franco with the Institute of Public Anthropology at CSUF. And a big thanks to Terri Uyeki for bringing supplies and Shaunt Yemenjian for photographing the process.

We have assembled a very talented Pro-bono design team:

designlab 252 landscape architect

Borrelli & Associates electrical engineer

Parrish Hansen Inc structural engineer

Anti Laboratories graphic designer

The design team has met twice and developed a conceptual design. The concept is to create a park with out the standardized or prefabricated park accessories. We will use repurposed materials that is sculptural in form. The park will provide the amenities the community desires and offers a cohesive visual treat to the passerby.

A few weeks back I received the CAD drawings of how the park of San Pablo & Belmont as built. The project had originally been done by civil engineer, Keith Campbell of AECOM

These drawings, called as-builts, saved us allot of time because we don’t have to start the drawings from scratch and verify the existing conditions. We can use these as-builts as or base drawings for the redeveloped design.

I was able to bring this CAD drawing into SketchUp in order to study the sun angles and shade patterns that the 180 freeway overpasses create on the ground.

As the design develops it will be posted here. Of course budget issues make this more relevant. archop park as planned will be entirely funded by private donation. If you wish to make a financial or material donation of any amount please contact us.

In today’s Fresno Bee, George Hostetter explored the existing light industrial businesses that inhabit what he calls a “forgotten part of downtown“.

Explore the neighborhood here:

View Larger Map

For those of us that frequent Art Hop we know this area well because of Kliszewski Glass, and Chris Sorensen’s Studio. And we know how the road is deteriorating and can evoke the setting of the Paper Street Soap Company in Fight Club. You may also know that the City of Fresno PARCs department has a skate park in the works for this area and will be accompanied by a retail/commercial building developed by Steve Weil. With all that in mind, here is a quote from the article:

Scharton acknowledges that the area has sometimes been overlooked. But, he adds, “a little attention in those kinds of areas can yield huge results.”

The South Van Ness Industrial Area may be on the verge of acquiring a certain consumer cachet. City officials say some large cities — such as Portland with its Pearl District — have helped transform light-industry areas into dynamic mixed-use neighborhoods.

Manufacturing, distribution, wholesale and retail by day; restaurants, artist studios, entertainment by night. Then toss in some residential.

City Manager Andy Souza calls the South Van Ness Industrial Area a potential “spark that continues the rebirth of our downtown.”

This sparks my imagination and I want to offer up some questions: Do you see this area transforming into something like Portland’s Pearl District? How long would that take? What are some first steps? What would make this district unique from the Cultural Arts District? Being outside the freeway triangle, do you count this as part of downtown? And maybe some neighborhood branding fun: George suggests “South Downtown? SoVan? The blue collar district?” what do you think?

Fresno to Welcome The Fultonia Live/Work Village

Fresno, CA – Nestled in an area between downtown Fresno and the Tower District will be The Fultonia Live/Work Village, a mixed-use development that offers 39 units of quality, moderately-priced housing and 10 commercial spaces.

Project design and information

Those who don’t wish to pay substantial sums of money for premium housing may find a home at The Fultonia Live/Work Village. The redevelopment, in an area that is being proposed as the SOTOW District, or South of Tower, also gives professionals and entrepreneurs the chance to invest in live/work units to reduce travel to and from work.

Developer TFS Investments, LLC, is about to begin construction on the project, at the site of what originally was a 39-unit low-income apartment complex along with 10 retail/office spaces located along Fulton Street that has fallen into disrepair. The goal is to take that same property and redevelop it entirely, and breathe new life into it as well as encourage the rest of the blighted neighborhood to make improvements as well.

“For the Fultonia project, providing quality, affordable housing is our number one focus,” said Terance Frazier, owner of TFS Investments. “At TFS Investments, we are doing the right thing and developing a bustling community where there wasn’t one before.”

Project manager is Tyco General, Inc., which has experience in managing numerous types of commercial construction projects.

The finished results will be a bright, colorful complex of buildings, complete with palm trees, banners and apartment balconies. The storefronts will house such businesses as retail shops, offices and small restaurants, and a large central courtyard plaza will be a place to gather and enjoy sunny days.

“Terance and TFS Investments has a bold vision for affordable housing that will not only help families who need assistance, but will provide investment and energy in

communities that need it most,” said Preston Prince, executive director of the Housing Authorities of the City and County of Fresno.

TFS Investments owner Terance Frazier, Fresno City Council President Cynthia Sterling, and Executive Director of the Housing Authorities of the City and County of Fresno Preston Prince, will take part in a press conference this Wednesday at 11 a.m. at the site, located at 532-614 Fulton St. in Fresno, 93721, to kick off construction on the project.

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TFS Investments, LLC is one of central California’s leading real estate investment firms. TFS Investments is also known as an experienced commercial and residential real estate developer. Some of the company’s current projects include a twenty acre development in Pflugerville, Texas, the development of 120 acres in southeast Fresno and a nine acre development in central Fresno.

Tyco General, Inc. is a full service Design/Build general contracting firm and has been serving California since 1998. It has been involved in many types of commercial construction projects.

place: future location of archop park

time: april 17th 4:30pm – 6:30pm

who: community members

reason: redesign of existing park

At the corner of San Pablo & Belmont is a clean but stark triangle of concrete and gravel quietly winding under the rush of the 180.

This is a park. However, it’s not a park in the sense of the feelings that word can evoke. There are not children playing, no one socializing, no one getting some sun or sleeping under a tree. There is no one engaged in a playful sport. There is no where to sit but the ground.

This is a left over space. It is the remainder of the 180 slicing through neighborhoods, the Fulton Lowell to the South and Tower District o the North. At the junction of these neighborhoods and amount of traffic, this site has great potential.

Working in partnership with the Hank Delcore PhD and the Institute of Public Anthropology of CSUF we seek to gather community input. Nothing has been designed yet, so this is an opportunity for you to help craft this park to suit your needs.

So come down to the park, do some drawing, talk about the landscape of your dreams and have fun. We will provide refreshments and plenty of paper and markers.

This is also National Architecture Week. Today topic being inclusiveness, it is no accident in the scheduling of this date for the design workshop. We would like to get the community included in the designing of Fresno revitalized. Join us in reinventing and activating this urban park.

A special thanks to the City of Fresno PARCS Department and City Manager’s Office.