The Columbus Redevelopment Commission on Monday heard an update from the firm selected to redesign the downtown entrance into the city.
Indianapolis and Pittsburgh-based Merritt Chase will redesign the 1.5-acres known at The Downtown Entrance Plaza, consisting of the POW/MIA/Law Enforcement Plaza north of State Road 46 and the Robert D. Garton Veterans Plaza south of the highway.
The firm presented three ideas to the redevelopment commission Monday before heading to The Commons for a public input session. Those interested in providing feedback and ideas can do so at columbusdowntownentranceplaza.com.
“Today it’s not a site that very many people go to or utilize and I think there’s a desire that it could be better,” Chase Merritt, co-founder and principal of the firm said.
As a main entry into Columbus, approximately 28,000 vehicles pass by the plaza each day. The space, created in 2000 by world-renowned landscape architects Michael Van Valkenburg and Associates, is in need of upgrades after becoming overgrown and underutilized, according to city officials.
In April, the commission had approved $400,000 towards construction and $50,000 towards design fees for the project being led by the Columbus Design Institute, an arm of the Landmark Columbus Foundation. The project is to integrate the space into other current or future developments, including the 1821 Bicentennial Trail and the future riverfront project, redevelopment officials said previously.
A circular hedge that was implemented when the plaza first came to be is now overgrown, which the firm is proposing to take out and start anew.
“The circular hedge frames an open lawn in the middle, which was really designed for the vehicular gateway experience when you come into town,” Merritt said. “Our proposal suggests in all three options to flip that relationship, where we’re buffering more of the road and opening the site for public use.”
Four goals outlined during Merritt Chase’s presentation to the commission include:
• Transform the space to be more desirable
• Collaborate with local partners and adjacent projects
• Improve key design features and connectivity
• Ensure the project’s integrity and universal accessibility
Merritt said they worked with Tricia Gilson with the Columbus Indiana Architectural Archives to dive into the history of the city and find how the project could tie into key themes common in its heritage.
“It’s kind of taking all that information and developing three different ideas and tying some of the themes from history into specific site design ideas, whether it’s form or material.”
The three concepts are known as the river, the field and the hill. The firm will ultimately land of some sort of “blended concept” after further input from the public, according to Merritt.
The river concept is born out of the idea that three rivers and three creeks set up the framework of the city and county, Merritt Chase representatives said.
“The design incorporates water features, natural stone, and meandering paths,” Merritt Chase wrote in a description. The concept would feature a large gathering lawn, shaded seating areas and a reflective memorial plaza.
The field is inspired by the city’s “agrarian context” and incorporates “straight linear paths, native grasses and plantings, and strong grids of trees.” The grids would create distinct areas for a memorial plaza, linear water features, smaller lawns and smaller plazas.
The final concept, the hill, comes from the city’s topographical history. One of the city’s originators General John Tipton had built a log cabin on Mt. Tipton, a small hill overlooking the East Fork White River. Columbus was known at Tiptona in honor of Tipton before being changed to Columbus in 1821.
To reflect that, the final concept includes “small hills connected by a memorial overlook that frames views of the Robert N. Stewart Bridge and the Bartholomew County Courthouse,” according to Merritt Chase.
That overlook would actually be a pedestrian bridge that would stretch over State Road 46, he said.
“These three concepts work with a potential rerouting of 46 and connecting the park space,” Merritt said. “So what you’re seeing is a diagram of how each of these concepts could be one kind of unified park experience.”
Commissioner Kyle Hendricks asked Merritt how pedestrian safety was taken into account with the designs.
“It’s a real challenge. It’s a loud, fast, busy highway. And our experience out there is, if there’s a green light on Second Street, people are going pretty fast to try and make it and go around that corner,” Merritt said, adding that investments in the landscape will create a buffer “that will naturally calm traffic, but it’s not a kind of end-all solution.”
He also mentioned ongoing improvements to Second Street and the potential idea of a reconfiguration of State Road 46.
“I think it’s really neat what you’ve done with the space that I think we talked about before, just how much space there is,” Grace Kestler, city council’s liasion to redevelopment said. “We talk about spaces as a commodity in downtown and opening up the green space, and I think you’ve done a nice job of that.”
BCSC’s liaison to the redevelopment commission Jason Major suggested the idea in June of Merritt Chase potentially teaming up with students in the C4 architecture program for some element of the project, which Landmark Columbus Foundation’s Laura Garrett said did end up taking place.
“I cannot understate how value-added they have been in addition based on a comment that Jason made,” Garrett said. “They’ve been working with C4 architecture kids, there’s a display board tonight. They’ve worked with a student at the IU Architecture school who has models for all three of these designs that are at The Commons.”
The boards will remain up at The Commons through the week, although the models will not. The Commons also has comment boards next to the concepts for people to give their thoughts.
Merritt said the hope is to have a draft consolidated plan for the project before the year is over.