Seeking Opportunities - Introduction

Since late fall I’ve been struggling with exploring possibilities in regard to defining next steps for The Heart of Roanoke. Should it be a formal organization as defined by IRS codes? Should I continue it under my existing professional corporation? How can we engage more input from the community and design professionals? These remain questions for which I am seeking input.

When I began this adventure several months ago, my vision was that I would go through the urban design procedures that I have throughout my career in an open forum. It would be an Urban Design Lab online. Finally, during this period of “cabin fever”, I’ve realized that I have needed to get back on my original track. After months of data collection, photo comments, walking photo tours & model building; the next step is Seeking Opportunities.

The process of seeking opportunities includes spotlighting underutilized areas of downtown; disconnected circulation patterns; and infrastructure shortcomings, including utilities, streetscaping and aesthetic detractions. The following step will include proposing, critiquing, and evaluating proposed solutions to each of the spotlighted areas or problems, incrementally, yet, maintaining focus and impact on adjacent areas.

I’ll begin posting descriptions of each of the spotlighted areas, identifying problems and issues that would benefit by correction. We’ll be seeking comments from everyone focused on those identified problem areas.

I very often like to describe Community Design & Planning to gardening. Both do best with an initial plan that considers circulation, orientation to the sun, compatible planting & uses, tilling, cultivating, weeding, tending. Both are organisms that need continuing attention.

During this current stage of our adventure, we are spotlighting problem areas in our garden that need attention to allow the garden to flourish. We’ll begin on the North side of Downtown and follow with the rest of Downtown.

JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE 21ST CENTURY

INTRODUCTION

• This journey that we as a human race are currently pressing on toward has a destination that we may be able to foresee as the center of the 21st Century. We’ll consider the beginning at the start of the Second Industrial Revolution, when the development of steam-powered ships, railways, and later in the 19th century with the internal combustion engine and electrical power generation. More locally, this time of beginning coincides fairly well with reconstruction after the Civil War and the emergence of the City of Roanoke.

REEVALUATING & RESTRUCTURING THE URBAN DESIGN PROCESS FOR POSTERITY

Unlimited talent and resources are opening up to analyze our current community, envision and define corrections to stale land use conditions; identify, evaluate and implement corrections within a rigorous review process that is endorsed by the affected community. “The Heart of Roanoke” is the harbinger of a major shift in our approach to guiding ourselves into a sustainable future. What course corrections can we and should we implement within our current fiscal means and within the Centerpiece of our urban environment, Downtown Roanoke?



And how can this adventure serve as a model for sustainable neighborhood development in the future within the scope of our community resources?



Over 40 years of experience in the field of Building, Architecture, Design, & Planning have molded my perception of our built environment and its impact upon our lives. Over many years, I sought professional association with those who achieved stature within my profession, hoping I could learn from their “success.” I found that I could also learn from their failures. Even more importantly, I learned from their experiences along with my own.



I have conducted “planning and design processes” for communities over a 30 year period. I’ve learned that the most successful projects that I have been engaged in have been those with “transparent” participation of the users of those projects. Achieving such participation leads to identification of and celebration of our heritage and our future.



Thirty years ago, the celebration created around our “city market area” produced a model for urban renewal nationwide. We were led to the idea of celebrating who we are, as compared with our longing to “keep up with the Joneses.” Roanoke needs to be happy being Roanoke; not longing to model our community and ourselves after another community.



I am committed to the idea that we need to discover and celebrate who we are to achieve happiness. The political strategy of polarization over issues creates toxic pools of stagnation and threatens our existence. At the very least we should eliminate partisan politics and clarify our expectations of our governmental representatives in local issues. We must be the model for our dreams.

Now as we enter the 2nd decade of the New Millenium ...

We Get Wiser (Punctuation Marks Optional)

Christmas morning 2009 looking out the east window of the kitchen

My New Year's Resolutions:

1. Communicate change, one step, at a time.
2. Collaborate instead of Compete.
3. Avoid "hosing down" with too much information.
4. Preserve and grow value in my community.
5. Remember that what I think that someone else thinks of me is not my business.

This Could Last Through Christmas! Oh Joy!

Shadows on the snow on the studio deck

Looking out toward Bent Mountain

 Snow Shadows

Tuesday Mornin': Building the Arts & Rail Districts in the Downtown Model

Sunday Mornin': Moving ahead with the Downtown Model

Looking South from Wells Avenue

Sunday Mornin':Thinking about the Roanoke City Market

I think David Trinkle's idea of providing assistance to displaced vendors in the City Market Building is well worth  consideration by Council. Perhaps, the same consideration should be given to those businesses along Wall & Market Streets along the East & West sides of the Market Building.

Surely,  some time must be taken to understand the real cost of moving these businesses to wherever, including upfit requirements in temporary(?) space, and reestablishing the vendors in the Market Building a year later.  Was planning building systems items for renovation/replacement such as water, sewer, electrical undertaken with detailed input from the eventual building vendors?

How would that cost compare to conducting renovations to the City Market Building incrementally? What might the increments be? Half the building at a time, one quarter at a time, upstairs/downstairs, vendor-by-vendor?
With Twists & Turns and Claire V's expression of intent to leave the market due to Center-in-the Square's intent to sell the building next summer to reduce expenses and raise money to allow the beginning of their major renovation; thoughtful consideration must be given to the implementation of these "most public" of projects in an open design lab atmosphere (as compared to another "Town Hall" format).

The problem is arising from an obscure & archaic planning process.  It is no one's fault!

The confluence of an economy in a tailspin and increasing divisiveness/partisanship in our society demands change in our approach to designing, planning and building our future.

The process needs to be transparent, flexible and quickly responsive. Think monumentally; act incrementally. Think globally; act locally.

Think for The Heart of Roanoke: A forum for discussion of issues like these.

If Construction is scheduled to begin 8-12 months away,  the architects & engineers of the project are not so far along in the creation of construction documents and specifications that a review of the project's implementation would create a problem. In fact, such review or reconsideration of projects in this stage is normal in my experience.

Eldon L Karr-Architect