Bridgehead Open House

On Monday evening, the PDC held an open house with all three of the developers who have submitted proposals for the Burnside Bridgehead development. It was, in my opinion, a great way to speak one-on-one with the the developers and architects. The developers each had an area where their proposals were set up and the public could roam freely and speak with whomever they wished. There were also question boards where you could write a question or comment for the developer. I'm not sure how the questions would be answered, but most of the boards were filled with comments anyhow. Looking through a lot of the comments made, it was obvious that there was a strong anti-big box store theme throughout.

So how did the night go? I think it went pretty good actually. Kent, Mark, and I were there to represent and we got right to the point with our questions. First, we made sure that we each logged a comment on the boards, basically saying that they should be aware of the park and what impact the development will have on it. Then we started making the rounds.

The first developer I spoke to was Opus NW. This is the design that featured a Lowes sign on the render of the project. In all of the pictures and models they were showing, the area the park was basically turned into a cave. Imagine the park with the entire north side walled in from the bridge down. I do have to admit that upon closer inspection of the renders, there was an alley of sorts along the north end of the park, south side of the project. The person I spoke to said he understood where I was coming from and that there is plenty of time to work out any problems. Which is true, this is still one of the early stages of the game. Once a developer is picked in early January, then the real work begins.

We then went to the Gerding/Edlen Development area. This is the design that features a Home Depot in their plans. I felt pretty good talking to these guys and felt like what I was saying was getting through. What helped this feeling is that the guy I was talking to was taking notes on what my concerns were. This design is actually the only one that is set back from the bridge and the skatepark. I mentioned transitioning the skatepark, as it is now, out towards the new development to give the park a more open feel and he really liked the idea. I know it doesn't mean a whole lot right now, but it gives me the feeling that at least the developers/architects are willing to work with us and are receptive to our ideas. We'll see.

Next, we wandered over to the Beam Development area. We spoke to Peter Stark for a little while and met a few others that are members of the CEIC. One thing you may notice from this post and the previous, is that I didn't really have concerns concerning the skatepark with their designs. This design is very friendly to the park and so are those on the development team. If Beam Development were to win the contract, I believe we would be well taken care of. Of course that doesn't mean we'll sit back and take what's given to us. We would still be actively pursue all of the needs the park will face with any development that takes place.

Later in the evening I noticed that the head of the Opus NW team was available so Kent and I walked over to speak to him. Kent and I talked to him for the better part of 20 minutes and he was pretty receptive to our ideas. He said that he would like to see the park actually highlighted as an asset to the area. He was suggesting that maybe there could be stairs coming down from the bridge and mid-way down having some sort of viewing platform. He even was suggesting some sort of cafe or coffee place. I think that's taking it a bit far, but it does give us the impression that we may be able to really take the park to a new level.

There will be at least one, maybe two, more public comment sessions before all is said and done. Of course we will be there continuing to advocate for the park and look forward to finally sitting down with the developer that is selected.

That's it. Go skate!