Dog Gone! Have you heard about this one?

Here's a Friday deadline that snuck up on prospective design firms. The city is requesting qualifications for planning what's dubbed as "Downtown Plaza" and/or "Main Street Plaza." I just now stumbled upon this RFQ (Monday at 6:30) while looking for any updated council minutes. (Note: The city's Web site is still stuck on September 4, 2007.)

I hope the tight, under-played deadline won't exclude truly qualified planners.

There's no mention of Dog Gone Alley in the RFQ notice, but the site in question is on Bush, between College and First. Dog Gone Alley runs through it. By the circuitous description, you would think the proposed plaza is on Main Street. Despite the late notice and meandering description, this project could be an exciting addition for downtown. Click the title of this story to access the RFQ.

Here are some excerpts from the online document:

REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY OF THE CITY OF WOODLAND
REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS

Historic Downtown Woodland
Main Street Plaza
Design and Feasibility Analysis

INTRODUCTION

The Redevelopment Agency of the City of Woodland (Agency) seeks proposals from a multi-disciplinary firm for the design and development of a new outdoor courtyard behind the retail businesses along Main Street in Historic Downtown Woodland. This request is to use outside expertise in defining the details of a potential feasible project.

Proposals should be submitted to:

Redevelopment Agency of the City of Woodland
520 Court Street
Woodland, CA. 95695
Attn: Cynthia Shallit, Redevelopment Manager

Proposals are due no later than 3:00 on Friday, May 9, 2008

THE SITE

Just one block to the west of the Opera House is the area site of the proposed project. It is located in the section identified as the “Downtown Core” district between Elm and Third streets in the Downtown Specific Plan. Included in this area are key landmarks such as the Hotel Woodland, the Porter Building, the Opera House, Dead Cat Alley, the Chinatown site, and Heritage Plaza.

This is a 2.61 acre site - a full city block. It is characterized by 14 storefronts along Main Street and five businesses along First
Street. Behind the buildings is some open space, but most is taken up by the American Legion building and an old car dealership building that was historically referred to as the Meier Car Dealership Building. The building, approximately 20,000 s.f., was constructed in the Moderne style in 1921 and is now mostly vacant except for some storefronts along College Street.

There may some significant infrastructure constraints on this site. Though the utility systems are currently considered adequate, any change in density of use could overburden the infrastructure, or renovation may cause damage. Furthermore, a large condominium project proposed just to the west of the project site may cause proposed near this Project Site consisting of 171 condominiums may cause this block to be inadequately served. For example the Downtown Specific Plan suggests that the existing galvanized water service laterals will need to be replaced with copper pipe. Any unlined pipelines will need to be cement-coated or replaced to improve flow capacity. The sewer line may need to be replaced. Several have commented that the overhead wires are particularly unsightly on this block and every effort should be made to underground them if possible.

A project of this size can be costly to the surrounding property owners and to the Redevelopment Agency. This is why it seems prudent to solicit ideas on the best practices and best approaches to financing redevelopment on this block. Such an analysis has to include considerations of the current economic market, Woodland’s future economic growth and the cost of improvements. Since no one source of funds nor one property owner can expect to improve this area as a single entity the other property owners and stakeholders will need to be brought into the process. Ideally this RFQ will solicit firms that have experience with this kind of project and can apply that knowledge to Woodland.

THE VISION

This block has long been viewed as underutilized with potential for development as a public plaza or parking area. An outdoor courtyard could be created behind the buildings between Main and Bush streets and between College and First streets. It is the Agency’s hope that this would enhance the Downtown’s street life and nightlife by creating a lively, vibrant courtyard area that will support neighboring businesses, especially restaurants and cafes. This could be a pedestrian-friendly environment with connections to Main Street which in turn would increase foot traffic in the area and patronage of local shops/restaurants. It could be the venue for community events such as a Farmer’s Market. Its potential as a dynamic urban destination location is enhanced by the historic buildings adjacent to the block, particularly the Hotel Woodland and the historic Elks building which together create a strong historic fabric.

Because of the long narrow buildings, many of which have functional separate spaces in the back, there might be opportunities to transform this area by providing new entries in the rear of the buildings and possibly a pathway (paseo) linking the courtyard directly to Main Street. Ultimately, this courtyard could consist of outdoor dining opportunities and build on the existing successes of some of the establishments there. Opening up this area could require demolishing the American Legion building and/or possibly the Meier Car Dealership Building.