THE NORTH END:DOWNTOWN MANHATTANA CASE STUDY IN SPRAWL REPAIR AND MIXED-USE COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT

Master’s Project byJohn Wolf

Major ProfessorGary Coates

THE NORTH END:DOWNTOWN MANHATTANA CASE STUDY IN SPRAWL REPAIR AND MIXED-USE COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT

Master’s Project byJohn Wolf

Major ProfessorGary Coates

College of Architecture, Planning & Design

Kansas State UniversityManhattan, KS

May 2011

2011 2050

Introduction

Research

Proposal

Existing

Phase One

Phase Two

Phase Three

Transformations

Model

Conclusion

References

THE NORTH END:DOWNTOWN MANHATTANA CASE STUDY IN SPRAWL REPAIR AND MIXED-USE COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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For the majority of the last 50 years, the trends and common practices of urban planning and city development have led to suburban sprawl. Recently, shifts in the environment and our available resources are forcing us to alter the way we think about creating our urban environments. Over the last few decades, there has been an ever-growing shift in focus to different patterns of development; patterns that reduce sprawl and create mixed-use, walkable and economically diverse communities.

Sprawl is so widespread and common that it becomes hard for some to imagine any other form of development. These changes away from sprawl become necessary. The disadvantages of sprawl are numerous. Sprawl is completely dependent on the automobile and oversized highways enable that dependence. With rising gas prices and depleting sources of oil, it will soon become unaffordable for many to continue living fully reliant on driving to

every destination. Sprawl is a segregation of uses. Strip shopping malls are all retail and completely separated from subdivision housing, which are completely separated from isolated business parks. Sprawl impedes upon rural lands with low-density developments, continually taking more of the natural environment for inefficiently organized suburbs, contributing to the deterioration of the planets ecosystem.1

Cities are continuing to sprawl, however the pendulum is swinging to better practices of Smart Growth. Urban planners are now creating cities with qualities opposite those of sprawl by implementing mixed-use districts containing residential, retail, office, civic, and industrial functions within the same context and by advocating safety for pedestrians and bicyclists rather than allowing our roads to widen further; letting automobile’s continue to dominate our society. Mass public transit systems may likely alleviate the dependence on the automobile

in many places. Lesser dependence on the automobile allows much of the space we now reserve for parking to be infilled, creating higher densities to support many functions, and by providing a consistent human scale to our streets.2

Spreading our cities further apart is no longer an option. We must look within our cities, at the struggling centers, and redevelop and reinvent existing spaces. We must look at the results of sprawl: highways, subdivisions, and strip malls, and evaluate what effective changes can be made. This process is called Sprawl Repair. Sprawl Repair is defined as transforming failing or potentially failing, single-use, and car-dominated developments into complete communities that have better economic, social, and environmental performance.3 Repair is a necessary step to ensure the future of cities.

INTRODUCTION

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INTRODUCTION

Manhattan, Kansas is located in the northeast part of Kansas’ scenic Flint Hills. Manhattan serves as a regional center drawing from a population of over 200,000, and is a college town, home of Kansas State University and nearby Fort Riley, a U.S. Army post. Poyntz Avenue makes up Manhattan’s historic downtown. The Manhattan Town Center Mall, located at the east end of Poyntz Avenue, was built in the late 1980s and consists of 350,000 square feet of retail space in the downtown. After the turn of the 20th century, the community of Manhattan began to plan a Crosstown Development through the downtown and the mall to enhance the downtown and keep development within the limits of the city, as opposed to continuing sprawl.4

The Crosstown Development is divided into the North End and the South End, divided by the Mall and Poyntz Avenue. The South End is still currently under planning, while the North End is almost complete. The original vision of the

community for the North End was intended to be a mixed-use extension of the historic downtown, with local and regional businesses, and to expand Manhattan’s standing as the regional center for shopping. The community wanted a district that spoke about where it exists, Manhattan. The result in the North End is a suburban strip mall that could be found in any town in America; there is nothing that is unique to Manhattan about the current North End.

The community wanted something great and extraordinary, but what became of the North End is ordinary; a collection of national chain-stores. Manhattan will continue to grow and expand in the future with the arrival of the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, return of soldiers to Fort Riley, and the increasing desire for people to retire to college towns. More commercial chains will desire a presence in Manhattan as it grows, and they will continue to function in the manner of sprawl. These businesses will spread the city

beyond the limits that it is capable of sustaining and collapse may be the future.

To create a more balanced, mixed-use district in the future, this project aims to redevelop the North End of Downtown Manhattan, thereby providing the community with something closer to their original goals of creating a mixed-use district. Another goal is to connect the North End with the entirety of Manhattan through the Master Transit Plan.

The North End was successful in reducing further sprawl, but was still built in the manner of sprawling developments. I am proposing three major phases that are implemented when an event in the future causes a dramatic shift in the way we think about the built environment in our daily lives. In each phase, consideration is given to needs for parking, parks, public squares, and pedestrian, bicycle, auto, and transit lines.

2

Sprawl Repair is transforming fragmented and inefficient development into complete communities that are livable and robust. Sprawl is inefficient; it wastes our resources of water, energy, land, and time. The main goal of sprawl repair is to insert needed elements into what already exists. Sprawl focuses on single-use developments that are dominated by the automobile. To repair these developments is to complete these areas into full, functioning communities with higher densities, public space, and more direct connections. Sprawl Repair is not going to be an option for every place. Some areas of our suburbs will not be financially feasible to repair and may have to seek additional or alternative repair strategies, or be left to decline.5

SPRAWL REPAIRWhat is it?

RESEARCH

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Many changes in global society will impact our lives. The rising prices of oil and projected population growth of the planet will have major impacts on many things that we take for granted. Growing concerns over how our way of life affects the environment are becoming more important issues for our society. Sprawl limits the amount of physical activity we get in our daily routines, and has a negative impact on human health. Sprawl is growing more and more expensive, the resources it requires to keep spreading farther apart and the infrastructure costs of sprawl could be funding other programs. It is projected that by shifting 60 percent of new growth to compact patterns, the U.S. will save 85 million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually by 2030.6 The continued patterns of sprawl will have negative effects on the environment, unless changes our made and we look to create a new, sustainable vision of our future cities.

Many things will have a large impact on how we build our cities in the future. The current trends of development take many of these things for granted, such as the cheap prices of oil, easily obtainable goods and materials transported around the globe, and the way the economy was functioning before the recent collapse. In the following six paragraphs, I outline six aspects that all must be considered in designing our future cities; oil production, population growth, environmental impact, human health impact, economic impact, and transportation.

Why is it necessary?

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Oil production is predicted to decline to approximately 15 billion barrels a year by 2050; a 50 percent decline.7 Our lives depend on us getting from one place to another in automobiles. Many cities are not provided with public transit and each individual has their own car. With the decline of oil production, gas prices will rise to unaffordable prices. People will not be able to drive everywhere and collective resources must be brought together to provide everyone with transit options. Those options could be public transit, retrofitting our cities for ease of pedestrian connectivity, or many other alternatives. Our reliance on oil can be supplanted with other renewable sources of energy such as solar or wind power.

Populations around the globe are predicted to grow at astounding rates. The current population of our planet is 6.9 billion people. Projections by the United Nations predict the number will rise to 8.3 billion by 2030, and to 9.1 billion by 2050. In the next 40 years, that is an increase of 2.2 billion people, a 30 percent increase.8 We must begin to provide an adequate mix of housing in our urban areas to support such growth. We must start to prepare ourselves for the predictions before the burden is too large to bear and our cities and regions become highly overpopulated and unable to support such growth.

Sprawl will have lasting effects on our environment. Every greenfield that we develop and build on will never return to its natural form. By limiting sprawl we are also deciding to preserve the natural environment and farmlands that will become more important when we begin to rely more heavily on local food and fiber. Sprawl depends on oil. Oil use accounts for 1/3 of all greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gas emissions released by transportation will continue to grow, even when there are renewable energy resources available but underutilized.9 An increasing amount of greenhouse gases contribute to global warming and negative changes in the planets ecosystems.

Peak Oil Population Growth Environmental Impact

RESEARCH

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Sprawl can be linked to negative health effects as well. Those that live in sprawl, generally, lack adequate physical activity in their daily routine. We choose to drive our car to the gym to exercise, instead of choosing to run or ride a bicycle. In most daily routines, our legs only work to go from the couch to the refrigerator and from the house to the car.10 We could walk or bicycle as a regular form of transportation and receive health gains by doing so. Slimdowntown.net, Patterns of Place-Making to Increase Walking & Bicycling, by Susanne Siepl-Coates, is a study that offers strategies to reduce obesity through developing urban communities.11 These patterns can be used as guidelines for further design proposals within the North End.

Sprawl Repair comes with economic gain for the community and individual. Money can be saved because of lower infrastructure costs per capita. Repair and retrofitting can increase land values within our cities and add more tax revenue for the local governments. Individuals will be able to save money that is normally used for personal transportation. The total costs of owning and operating an automobile are rarely looked at as a whole. Consider the price of the vehicle, insurance, maintenance, and fuel, and the collective costs of a transit system that replaces the individual automobile can be much cheaper.12

Multiple transportation options must be provided for our future cities. Currently, dendritic street systems of sprawl are inefficient and favor big-box developments rather than community scaled developments.13 An interconnected street system allows shorter and more efficient trips; congestion is relieved with multiple trip options, and a smoother, but not necessarily faster flow of traffic.14 More connectivity within our street system also allows more and safer pedestrian traffic.

Human Health Impact Economic Impact Transportation

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Manhattan, Kansas was settled in 1855 by a group of Free-Staters, along the Kansas River at the mouth of the Big Blue River located in the northeast portion of Kansas called the Flint Hills. In 1863, the local Blue Mont Central College was turned into Kansas State Agricultural College, the nation’s original land-grant university.15 The Agricultural College would later become Kansas State University. Fort Riley, a U.S. Army post, is located 10 miles west of Manhattan. Much of the population of Fort Riley and other surrounding towns come to Manhattan for education, retail, entertainment, and cultural purposes.

In 2007, Manhattan was also rated one of the ten best places in America to retire young by Money magazine. This rating is based on projected growth of the city, the affordable housing prices in the area which expect little inflation in price, as well as the many attractions Manhattan has to offer to keep one entertained in retirement.16

Manhattan is home to the Mariana Kistler Beach Museum of Art and the Kansas State University Gardens on the Kansas State University campus, the Sunset Zoo, Colbert Hill’s Golf course, Tuttle Creek Lake, Aggieville, the hub of nightlife, and will soon be home to the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, which will bring a large increase in population. All of these attractions help maintain Manhattan’s position as the center of the region.

RESEARCH

HISTORYManhattan

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Another attraction that Manhattan provides for the region is the Historic Downtown on Poyntz Avenue and the Manhattan Town Center Mall. Poyntz Avenue is attractive for daytime shopping, providing a unique historic experience of downtown America. The Manhattan Town Center Mall anchors Poyntz Avenue on the east end. The Mall was completed in the 1980s as part of the 1983 Central Business District Redevelopment Plan that also looked to improve streetscapes along Poyntz Avenue between 6th and 3rd Street leading to the entry plaza to the Mall. The Town Center is a major anchor to downtown Manhattan, upon opening; it had 40 shops with two major anchors, Dillard’s and JCPenney’s.17

In April 2000, the City of Manhattan released a Redevelopment Plan for Downtown Manhattan called “Downtown Tomorrow”. It was a plan to further reach the community goals for downtown Manhattan as a Regional center for commercial, office, governmental, and cultural business. The goals of the plan were to ensure long-term physical, economic, and social well-being for the community and to insure continued vibrancy and economic stability to downtown.18

“Downtown Tomorrow” broke up the downtown into multiple districts. Each district was studied, and conclusions and recommendations for the future of each district were made. “Downtown Tomorrow” can be considered the catalyst of the Crosstown Development in downtown Manhattan.

Downtown Development

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Poyntz Avenue is the historic heart of downtown and must always first be considered when plans are being made. The downtown relies on the productivity and vibrancy of Poyntz Avenue. The major goals of “Downtown Tomorrow” for Poyntz Avenue were to improve pedestrian and traffic functions. The major conclusions were to strengthen the role of the Mall Plaza as a major link between the Mall and Poyntz Avenue and to make that a more seamless pedestrian transition.

Traffic movement at the intersection of Poyntz Avenue and Third Street was recommended to change to a stop sign, to help with the pedestrian flow connecting the plaza to the main street. Also, reducing the number of traffic lanes on Poyntz Avenue from four lanes to three was recommended to slow the traffic and make it safer for pedestrians wanting to cross Poyntz Avenue.

A system of pocket parks and walkways were recommended for development to improve pedestrian function and to provide pedestrians with places to gather and stay outside on Poyntz Avenue, thus enlivening the atmosphere with greater activity. An emphasis was placed on pedestrian crossings of Poyntz Avenue with textured paving for safer pedestrian connections across the street. A bicycle route running North-South along Fourth Street and Juliette Avenue to have a greater bicycling connection within Manhattan was recommended, as well as provide for greater bike traffic within downtown with more accessible bike racks. Parking in the downtown is always an issue and must always be accounted for with future proposals.

As a result of “Downtown Tomorrow”, a public organization was formed to represent and promote downtown. More promotion for the historic downtown will add interest and potentially bring more customers. Incentives were seen as a way to retain and enhance existing businesses and to attract new businesses. The greater the businesses are in downtown, the greater community use the downtown will have. The main attraction in promoting downtown Manhattan is the historic character. Enhancing and expanding that character is always a goal for the community of Manhattan.19

Poyntz AvenueFig. 1 Fig. 2

RESEARCH

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The conclusions of “Downtown Tomorrow” for the South Fourth Street Corridor were broken into two sections: the East and West sides of 4th Street. For the East side, which was primarily industrial businesses, it was recommended that the city initiate discussions with major landholders to begin exploring possible redevelopment options, as well as to enhance the area around Fourth Street and Pierre Street as a Gateway to Manhattan from the Highway K-177 into Manhattan.

On the West side of 4th Street, the plan recommended exploring zoning options for reduced front yard setbacks for residential lots. Tax Increment Financing was to be used to improve streetscapes along Fourth Street on this side, and to establish pocket parks similar to those proposed for Poyntz Avenue to meet the needs of existing and future residents of downtown. Providing adequate outdoor gathering space for those that live in downtown is very important to its attractiveness for residents.20

Fig. 3 Fig. 4

South Fourth Street Corridor

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Recommendations for the North Third Street Corridor were to extend the traffic function of 4th Street further north from Leavenworth Street to Bluemont Avenue and to shift the traffic functions from 3rd Street to 4th Street. The city would offer incentives through T.I.F.’s and the Neighborhood Revitalization Act to any redevelopment projects in this district. The city also began to form a negotiating team to enter discussions with the major landholders of industrial businesses here as well, to explore possible redevelopment plans. A concern of the plan in this district is to protect residential neighborhoods that already exist to the west of Fourth Street through effective land use and urban design measures.21

North Third Street Corridor

RESEARCH

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Fig. 5 Fig. 6

Based on the information of the Downtown Tomorrow Plan, in 2003, the city started the process of redeveloping downtown Manhattan. The Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce recommended a development/design team to the city that included Dial Realty, RTKL, Inc., and Brent Bowman & Associates. The team made presentations to the City Commission showing their vision for a Crosstown Redevelopment. In July 2003, the City Commission approved the recommendation and appointed Dial Realty, RTKL, Inc., and Brent Bowman & Associates as the development team. The City Commission and Dial Realty had a Pre-Development Agreement that would allow the master planning process to be public and receive input from all citizens interested in the redevelopment.22

The team had a series of public meetings throughout 2003, and acquired input from the citizens concerning their desires. They presented three different Master Plans, and throughout the meeting process with the community, one Master Plan was created by January 2004. It was a combination of parts from each of the previous plans that the community found desirable.23

The North End has been called Manhattan Marketplace and is a regional shopping district. The South End was slated to be an Entertainment District, home to the Flint Hills Discovery Center, a Conference Center and Hotel, and a Movie Theater. The movie theater backed out of the project, and the city is still going through the process of developing that site. There is a promising coalition of local developers and businessman that have proposed an alternative to the City that is currently being further investigated.

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Fig. 7

PROPOSAL

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The North End was intended to have more local businesses, but all of the current tenants are national chains. Third Street passes right by the mall plaza and was made the main commercial street in the North End, to be an extension of downtown Manhattan. All of the stores face the major thoroughfare, Tuttle Creek Boulevard, to create a conventional strip mall with big-box retail chains. Dick’s Sporting Good’s is the latest addition and will bring the total square footage of retail and dining space to 250,000. The housing on Fourth Street to hide the backsides of the big-box stores reach a total of forty-five units, with ninety-five more units currently under construction. The housing was placed along Fourth Street as a transition from the commercial area of the North End to the already existing residential neighborhoods to the west. The North End occupies thirty-five acres of land from 4th Street east to Tuttle Creek Boulevard and from Leavenworth Street north to Bluemont Street.

The community of Manhattan had high hopes for the North End. The city failed them by hiring a developer that focuses on strip-mall big-boxes only. The future growth of Manhattan must be partially contained within the current infrastructural boundaries. Repairing the North End will remedy the communities feelings of disappointment, as well as limit future businesses from sprawling outside of Manhattan.

This project aims to redevelop the North End by creating a more balanced, mixed-use district. I am proposing three major phases to be implemented over time from now until 2050. Key factors in repairing the district are the addition of vertically integrated mixed-use blocks in place of big-box stores and the creation of more connections to existing neighborhoods and the proposed new mixed-use developments on the east side of Tuttle Creek Boulevard.

Each phase is implemented after a future event causes a shift in society. In this case, those projected events are the rise of gas prices to universally unaffordable levels, and the failure of the big-box store model. Each phase is meant to provide improvements for the community, and to create a district closer to their original vision. In each phase consideration is given to needs for parking, parks, public plazas, and pedestrian, bicycle, auto, and transit lines.

PROPOSAL

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EXISTING

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The North End has one main function – big-box retail. The district has some horizontal mixed-use in the row houses along Fourth Street used to hide the rear ends of the big-box stores, but lacks any vertical mixed-use. The North End was intended to have more local businesses with residential above, but only national chain stores are present.

The North End’s focus is towards Tuttle Creek Boulevard, the high-speed thoroughfare to the east. All facades are oversized signage to lure in drivers. The North End functions as a singular district, lacking a sense of connectivity to the core of downtown, Poyntz Avenue. Third Street is planned to be open to create a physical automotive connection between the North End and downtown, but the lack of continuous storefronts within the North End and connecting it to Poyntz Avenue makes it much more difficult for pedestrian movement within the area. Too much of the block space is dedicated to surface parking lots. Parking lots are the only areas of public open space, and they only serve the function of arriving and leaving by the automobile.

EXISTING

EXISTING

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140 Residential Units250,000 SF Commercial SpaceN/A SF Office Space1,400 Parking Spaces4 DU/Acre

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Tuttle Creek Boulevard is a high-speed thoroughfare to the east of the site. Currently, all the big-box stores are oriented in this direction; with parking occupying the majority of the space between Third Street and Tuttle Creek Boulevard. The main strip of shopping is fronting Third Street on the west, Third Street is not enclosed on both sides, but mainly functions as an access road to parking lots. The older grid of Manhattan is broken off as it enters the North End, and does not extend to Tuttle Creek Boulevard. This limits connectivity and access to fewer intersections. Fourth Street functions as a collector street, which contradicts the fact that residential lines both sides of the street.

Pedestrian circulation is limited within the North End. Safety on foot is always a concern when the site favors the automobile. Many of the sidewalks connecting the stores pass long, solid walls, without any openings. It is not a very inviting area to pedestrians. The majority of the pedestrian paths are circling around the parking lots that account for the majority of the site, and edging Tuttle Creek Boulevard, which is not safe for pedestrians.

Streets Pedestrian Paths

Streets

Pedestrian Paths

EXISTING:analysis

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There are approximately 1,400 parking spaces within the North End. Many people first experience the district while driving along Tuttle Creek Boulevard, and the first thing they see is an expanse of parking. By reserving the most prominent open spaces for parking, the space lacks a human scale and functionality to it. Parking is a necessity now because everyone drives to the places they need to go, but nothing has been done to try and conceal or beautify the areas of parking. Parking lots just dominate the district.

Parking dominates the North End and leaves very little space for public places such as parks or plazas. The community of Manhattan was expecting a series of pocket parks and a public plaza space within the Master Plan of the North End. Many of those ideas were forgotten as cost-cutting moves. The southwest corner of the North End is currently undeveloped, but the plan for an apartment building surrounded by three small pocket parks on that block is set to begin construction. This very last piece of the North End, upon completion, will finally bring some form of public open space to the district that is not a parking lot.

Parking

Public Open Space20

Parking Public Open Space

EXISTING

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PHASE ONE

As part of the proposed Manhattan Transit 2050 Plan, a streetcar line will be extended from Poyntz Avenue along Third Street into the North End by 2025. The streetcar has helped to revitalize Poyntz Avenue, and the transit line is ready for expansion. The new addition will connect the North and South Ends of downtown with Poyntz Avenue through the streetcar line. The streetcar stimulates investments that the bus lines previously installed in Manhattan did not do.

It is supposed that the streetcar extension along Third Street will bring with it linear development of vertical mixed-use along the transit line on the east side of Third Street, as well as bringing more pedestrians and transit users to the area, and fewer automobiles. By 2030 the Third Street corridor is complete with storefronts lining both sides of the street, making this a more prominently used public space. Major big-box stores remain, such as HyVee and Dick’s Sporting Goods, but lesser stores are being replaced with more local businesses with residential above.

There is now much more connectivity to Poyntz Avenue with the streetcar, and pedestrian paths along the line are improved as well. Surface parking lots are drastically downsized, and a parking structure is built between the North End and Poyntz to replace much of the surface parking area that was taken away. The Third Street Corridor now becomes an often used public space, with all the retail and residential along the line, it is filled with people most of the day. The terminus of the streetcar line also ends in a public plaza, where gatherings and events can be held.

PHASE ONE

PHASE ONE

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525 Residential Units376,000 SF Commercial Space36,000 SF Office Space1,480 Parking Spaces15 DU/Acre

Streets

PHASE ONE:analysis

Pedestrian Paths

The street infrastructure already existing will remain the same through phase one. The major change is that Third Street becomes a complete street with storefront shopping on both sides, and with a streetcar line down the center of the street. Third Street is now the major destination in the North End, having an urban feel with vertical mixed-use being built on both sides, and with the streetcar. This place is more attractive for people to live and for businesses to provide their services.

Pedestrian circulation is improved by completing Third Street. Each side of the street has more storefront entries and windows, which makes it more comfortable for one to travel on foot down Third Street. By narrowing Third Street and inserting a streetcar line, auto traffic slows, and it becomes a safer environment for pedestrians.

Streets

Pedestrian Paths27

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Parking Public Open Space

A large portion of surface parking is replaced by the new mixed-use development along Third Street. At this time parking requirements remain high, so a parking structure is built between the North End and Poyntz Avenue, to provide adequate parking for both districts. Parking is still visible to drivers along Tuttle Creek Boulevard, but is no longer a burden to pedestrians within the district. Parking is pushed to the outer edges and allows the interior of the district to become more human-scale and pedestrian friendly.

Providing attractive and functional outdoor space is very important throughout the repair of the North End. With almost none existing, any sort of outdoor gathering space would be an improvement. In phase one, voids are left between the linear development, to create connections from parking to Third Street, as well as to function as small plazas along the street corridor. Spaces for people to gather and socialize, or just rest outside while shopping. The streetcar line terminates at a plaza at the north of the district. This space becomes a focal point, where community functions can take place.

Parking

Public Open Space

PHASE ONE

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PHASE TWO

By 2035, rising gas prices along with other factors cause big-box retailers to change the way they function. They can no longer afford such large footprints and shipping merchandise from so many miles away. At this time the existing big-boxes in the North End are finally replaced with vertical mix-use buildings. Some big-box stores have begun to reinvent their model to fit within the vertical mixed-use, urban area, while others are closed for good. With the continued development vertically along the streetcar line, the North End has become very attractive for businesses and residents of Manhattan.

The East-West streets that end in the North End are extended past Tuttle Creek Boulevard to the east, creating more connections for development in the future. The terminus plaza of the streetcar line is enclosed. Parking is now provided on slip streets along the west side of Tuttle Creek Boulevard, allowing customers still arriving by automobile easy and close access to Third Street and the streetcar line, and Poyntz Avenue.

PHASE TWO

PHASE TWO

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752 Residential Units340,000 SF Commercial Space69,000 SF Office Space1,570 Parking Spaces21 DU/Acre

Streets Pedestrian Paths

PHASE TWO:analysis

Streets

Pedestrian Paths

In phase two, the proposal carries out the old grid of Manhattan across Tuttle Creek Boulevard. Tuttle Creek Boulevard is restructured to have fewer lanes and to slow down traffic. These streets will create the connections for further development across Tuttle Creek Boulevard in the next phase. At this time, all streets in the district are redesigned to accommodate bicycle traffic alongside auto traffic.

Pedestrian paths are further improved and once again, made safer. Sidewalks and crosswalks are carried across Tuttle Creek Boulevard with the extension of those streets. Slower traffic on Tuttle Creek Boulevard allows this pedestrian access safely. With the big-box stores gone, the west side of Third Street becomes more comfortable for pedestrians, with shorter distances between storefronts.

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Public Open SpaceParking

Parking

Public Open Space

By the completion of phase two, very few people will travel by personal automobile on a daily basis. Therefore, as density increases, the number of parking spaces remains the same. A slip street along the west side of Tuttle Creek provides more parking. Third Street still has parking on both sides of the street. The majority of parking is still within surface parking lots that are visible along Tuttle Creek Boulevard, and allow the district to be more internally focused.

The interior spaces of the blocks along the west side of Third Street are transformed into semi-public park spaces. These areas are meant to serve the residents of the North End, but are also accessible to the public. The streetcar terminus plaza is enclosed on the east side, giving that plaza more shape and depth.

PHASE TWO

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PHASE THREE

By 2045, the linear development of vertical mixed-use along the streetcar line has reached a maximum point, and development begins to spread further outwards from the North End. The Third Street corridor is transformed into a totally walkable pedestrian street along with the streetcar line. The model of urban, mixed-use development expands across Tuttle Creek Boulevard to the east. Row housing is built up along the west side of Fourth Street to increase the density closest to the transit line. Expansion also begins to the north, offices and residential replace the fast food restaurants there. The Big Blue River Reservoir is transformed into a natural drainage parkway along Tuttle Creek Boulevard.

Previously in Phase Two, the East-West streets were extended across Tuttle Creek Boulevard, so now in Phase Three development occurs along these streets. Developers and residents want to be within walking distance of the transit line, and this area is attractive for further development. Parking requirements have dropped very low at this time, as most people now prefer to travel by streetcar, bicycle, or walk. The interior blocks are made into outdoor park spaces, and small plazas are made along the streetcar line.

PHASE THREE

PHASE THREE

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1,480 Residential Units626,500 SF Commercial Space220,000 SF Office Space1,550 Parking Spaces24 DU/Acre

Streets Pedestrian Paths

PHASE THREE:analysis

Streets

Pedestrian Paths

The street patterns from phase two to phase three do not go through any major changes, rather just minor improvements to street pavings, allowing safer pedestrian crossings. The street extensions in phase two have set up the continued development within the area.

Third Street becomes a pedestrian corridor by phase three. Only service and emergency vehicles are allowed on this street. The streetcar continues to function within the pedestrian street. The interior blocks are given greater connections to the pedestrian street through plazas and along streets. Pedestrian paths are improved with the new developments across Tuttle Creek Boulevard. A path is made along the natural parkway created along the east edge of Tuttle Creek Boulevard that can be used for running and cycling.

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Public Outdoor SpaceParking

Parking

Public Open Space

Parking spaces are slightly reduced in this phase. The requirements have become so small because of the success of public transit in Manhattan. Very few people still own automobiles, so the need for parking spaces is low. Street side parking is the only kind you find in the new development along Tuttle Creek Boulevard. The visible surface parking lots on the west side of Tuttle Creek Boulevard have been transformed into green parking lots or green park spaces.

The edge to the east of Tuttle Creek Boulevard, which is currently a drainage ditch, is repaired into a natural parkway that acts as a bioswale. The interior blocks of the new development is completed devoted to park/outdoor space for the residents of this neighborhood. Transforming Third Street into a pedestrian street also allows the entire corridor to function as a public outdoor space. These spaces become a great amenity and luxury to the North End. These spaces do not exist today, but in the future, they will be necessary and expected by the community in any new developments.

PHASE THREE

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TRANSFORMATIONS

TRANSFORMATIONS

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TRANSFORMATIONS

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MODEL

MODEL

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2011 2050

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MODEL

20502011

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20502011

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CONCLUSION

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CONCLUSION

The City of Manhattan tried in the North End. They tried to give the community what they wanted, but in the end hired a developer that was not capable of such a development. The city got a typical suburban strip mall filled with big-box stores with large surface parking lots. Manhattan has invested a lot of time, effort, and money into the North End. The continued development in the North End would be a smart investment, to salvage the investments already made in the district. It is not yet beyond repair, we have time to implement this vision for a better future.

To fulfill this proposal, it will take further commitment from the community and its leaders, and the vision to see the current North End is not sustainable in our uncertain future. This proposal takes the current North End and transforms it into a mixed-use, sustainable community that will appear and function as a part of downtown Manhattan.

By phase three, the North End is a district integrated into the urban fabric of Manhattan, and spreading that fabric. It is no longer separated as a separate function within the city, but highly connected by multi-modal forms of transportation. The streetcar is a great amenity to Manhattan and is the foundation of further development.

Third Street and the North End as a wholenow provides a strong identity for this part of downtown Manhattan. Those that live here feel ownership of the place, and it is an attraction to all the people of Manhattan. The pedestrian street is filled with a greater mix of uses that create a vibrant, highly used area.

Future development in Manhattan should focus on existing infrastructure; areas and neighborhoods that could use improvements and are able to be repaired. The North End is only a failure if we let it remain the way it is;

unsatisfying to all the people of Manhattan. Success can be made from what is there now, through repairing the district and initiating a development that is visionary towards an uncertain future. This three phase approach begins to prepare for certain projections in our future, and should by highly considered as Manhattan moves forward.

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