DIRECTORY
March 23 Community Workshop:
Focus Groups:
Local and State Government Staff
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Tom Kigar, CADA
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Site 13 Focus Groups
March 29, 2000
Community Leaders
On March 29, a group of seven neighborhood community leaders participated in a discussion group to talk about the future of Site 13.
CADA brought together individuals to provide their personal perspectives on Site 13. These perspectives are portrayed in the following summary. The perspectives do not reflect any formal position on Site 13 or for the potential future development of the Site. The comments are personal opinions made by informed individuals who participated in the discussion group.
Summary of Findings
Housing Demand
Site 13 is a valuable site for housing with the adjacent amenity of Fremont Park. As a result, it may be the best site in the Capitol Area on which to develop much needed "for sale" housing.
Proper Management of the Gardens
Regardless of what happens with the Gardens, it needs to be managed in a way in which it is a valuable amenity for the entire Capitol Area.
Potential Site for and Size of Grocery Store
A supermarket the size of the Safeway on Alhambra on Site 13 could diminish the pedestrian scale and accessibility which makes the Fremont Park Neighborhood and the Central City such a livable area.
Amending Land Use Plan and Transferring Ownership of Mandella Gardens
It is the City's role to provide open space amenities such as community gardens. There is a process wherein the Capitol Area Plan could be amended to designate a portion of Site 13 as a permanent site for a community garden. One possibility for transferring ownership of the property would be for the City to purchase a portion of the site from the State and then have responsibility for managing it through its Park's Department.
The following issues and perspectives were offered:
1. The site at 19th & R would be a good site for a grocery store.
2. The Safeway at Alhambra is 43,000 square feet; Albertson's on F Street is 15,000 square feet and Rick's Uptown Market is approximately 12,000 square feet. We do not want a grocery store (supermarket) the size of the Safeway at Alhambra at Site 13.
3. Unfair to burden the development of Site 13 with the costs of relocating the Garden.
4. The most important use of Site 13 in the opinion of the Fremont Park Neighborhood Residents is for "for sale" housing. The neighbors consider Site 13, with its view of Fremont Park as the best site in the Capitol Area on which to create such "for sale" housing. They desire a "for sale" product on the site so as to attract residents who have a financial interest and an emotional commitment to the neighborhood to balance-out the existing predominantly rental population.
5. The Fremont Park Neighborhood Residents are in favor of keeping the Gardens but not at the expense of creating "for sale" housing on Site 13. They would relocate the existing half of the Gardens at the corner of 15th and Q Streets to the corner of 14th and P Streets so that housing can face Fremont Park. Neighborhood residents want a grocery store but not on Site 13.
6. Make the Gardens a multi-faceted amenity for entire community garden, park, greenspace, strolling area, learning center, etc.
7. Where do current gardeners live?
8. Gardens should not be on State land and be subsidized by taxpayers throughout the State. If it is going to exist it should be on land owned by the City.
9. City should acquire vacant sites on which to relocate the Gardens. Several sites suggested were on the East Side of Third Street between S and T Streets and on several lots with the burned-up/boarded-up homes on W Street between 8th and 9th Streets.
10. Site 13 might be a good candidate for subterranean parking so as to yield more housing and amenities.
11. If Rick's Uptown Market was a Trader Joes or a Corte Brothers all the talk about needing a grocery store would go away.
12. Midtown residents would like to see a deli and bakery added to the Albertson's on F Street.
13. Not enough variety at Albertson's on F Street because of its limited size. Safeway on Alhambra has parking problems.
14. The status of Site 13 and the Gardens should be resolved at this time once and for all. We should not have to re-visit the issue of the existence of the Gardens on Site 13 in 5 years.
15. If 1/2 of the block was to be retained for the Gardens (this would mean that 1/2 of the Garden as it currently exists would no longer remain at Site 13) and the two existing apartment buildings were to remain on the 1/2 block at 15th and P Streets, CADA staff estimated that between 25 to 65 residential units could be created on the remaining 1/2 block. The housing units should face Fremont Park to take advantage of the park as a view amenity.
16. The Annual Survey of CADA's tenants which revealed that 62% of the respondents identified a grocery store/drug store as the single most lacking amenity should be distributed to all residents in Capitol Area.
17. CADA is responsible for implementing the Capitol Area Plan (CAP). If the CAP is amended to allow the Gardens to remain; it should be managed by an organization other than CADA. CADA is not in the business of managing community gardens.
18. The CAP, which was amended in 1997, requires 40 50 housing units on Site 13. In order to reduce or eliminate the required number of housing units on this site, the CAP would need to to be amended. So as to achieve the goal of 3500 residents in the Capitol Area, any number of housing units eliminated on the site would have to be added elsewhere. Maybe the City would swap land on which housing could be built in trade for the Gardens site.
19. Several options for the Mandella Gardens were discussed:
A. Remain at current location in its current or revised configuration
B. Relocated to another site
In any event, the Gardens should be managed by a public or civic group i.e., City Parks Department, consortium of area schools, etc. so it truly is a public amenity.
20. Site 13 is a valuable site for housing and it should not be used for the Gardens. There are other sites that are not well suited for housing but would make good sites for the Gardens.
21. If CADA is going to put out a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to Developers it would be for housing on Site 13. If a developer can create the required housing and also include needed commercial uses on the site, such a proposal would be acceptable. CADA is not going to put out an RFQ specifically for a grocery store nor has CADA received any formal proposals for a grocery store.